tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65621734746648592212024-03-05T01:45:27.611-05:00The Music Is The Message<b>you can't stop the signal</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-71640866924195299422013-05-28T07:18:00.001-04:002013-05-28T07:18:31.892-04:00Summer Albums: Exit...Stage Left<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I was 12 and entering the 7<sup>th</sup> grade when I moved
to Germany. I was well versed in Top 40
hits but then I met Gilbert. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m sure everyone can point to a few people who influenced
them in the music they listen to. I’ve read so many stories about an older sibling
influencing many of the musicians I listened to growing up and also to this
day. My father undoubtedly had a huge
influence on me, especially the country music he would play. He liked the rock, but I think he was geared
more towards rock on Top 40 radio.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But Gilbert was a kid my age. I would bring him tapes and he would load
them up with stuff. I was interested in
AC/DC. Gilbert also introduced me to
Rainbow and then, I’m not quite sure, but I thought it was he who also
suggested Rush to me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I can’t pinpoint if there was a specific song, or maybe he
let me borrow a tape. But that first
summer in Germany, between 7<sup>th</sup> and 8<sup>th</sup> grade, my
soundtrack was Rush’s <i><a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Rush/Exit...Stage+Left" target="_blank">Exit…Stage Left</a></i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Live albums in the 80s were sort of like the “Greatest Hits”
for rock bands. In Rush’s case, as far
as I could tell by studying the backs of the records for dates, they recorded 4
studio albums then released a live album.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I lived in a newer area of a small town in Germany. We rented a house that had 3 or 4 tiny
apartments below it. We had no yard,
really, to speak of. The front “yard”
was mostly ground cover plants. Same for
the back yard. It was a wide sidewalk
made of pebbled concrete with ground cover for the remaining yard. It didn’t seem out of place to me at the
time. We had a playground 2 houses down,
and the following year they built another park about a block away that had a
grassy field that butted up against a wooded area with trails.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The following summers I would have a Summer Hire job, where
I would travel to work with my folks and usually work in some kind of food
service capacity. But that first summer,
I was left to my own devices, and I would spend it listening to music and
trying to find friends to hang out with.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Summers where I lived in Germany were warm, but not too hot,
and the rainy days were mild as well, with not a lot of thunderstorms, as far
as I can recall. Whenever the days are
overcast during the summer months, I am reminded of this album, because of the
song, “Jacob’s Ladder”, which is about a thunderstorm. I remember actually cueing up that song when
it would become overcast. Let me assure
you, it was very dramatic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The first thing I noticed about this live album was that it
did not have the continuous crowd noise all the way through. I’m not sure I figured it out early, but
later, when I would construct mix tapes, this was a blessing, because I
wouldn’t have that hard crowd noise coming in when I wanted to add a song from
a live album (yes, I would always to prefer using the studio version of a song,
but if I didn’t HAVE the studio version, or if the live version was better,
then I would use it).<o:p></o:p></div>
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I rather enjoy Geddy Lee’s brief banter before some of the
songs; “This is a song about a car, this
is called ‘Red Barchetta’.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I recorded this album to a tape, and I remember listening to
it on my sister’s Walkman. It wasn’t a
Sony, though, it was a KLH and was the size of an English textbook. I think it used like 8 AA batteries. You could crank up the volume on “Broon’s
Bane” and I remember it sounding so great. Of course, that segued right into
“The Trees”.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was never a fan of instrumentals until later in life. Sure, “YYZ” is great, but I never knew how
regarded “La Villa Strangiato” was for it’s technical prowess. “Xanadu” seemed overly long, but again, I
rather enjoy the dynamics and feel of the song.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With the recent storms we’ve been having, as well as the
weather getting warmer, I was again reminded of this album and wanted to
revisit it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The album takes selections from <i>2112</i> to <i>Moving Pictures</i>
(as well as “Closer to the Heart” and “Beneath, Between and Behind” from <i>Fly By Night</i>). For me, this was my
favorite period of Rush albums. I am
also quite fond of <i>Signals</i> but from
that point on, they progressed their music to include more “world” influences
and I was diving deeper into more gritty music.
I would not have gotten there, however, without my friend, Gilbert.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Jezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130897549926261047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-40818762035797278672012-06-29T06:00:00.000-04:002012-07-12T21:20:08.425-04:00My Life with Blondie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I remember as a kid first hearing "Heart of Glass" on the radio. I would have been 10 at the time and I had a single speaker mono radio with a tape player my dad brought back from one of his TDY trips to Saudi Arabia and a GE Clock Radio that served me faithfully until it crapped out about 10-12 years later in my college years.</div>
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I have fond memories of KIIK 104 out of Davenport, Iowa. I think I mostly listened to that station and 97X (WXLP) out of Moline. But the music mix back then was so diverse. Plus, I think it was still in the young years of FM radio, so that was probably what made it so wonderful.</div>
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"Heart of Glass" caught my attention with Deborah Harry's siren-like voice. It was a rockin' tune with that sweet disco drum and bass combination. <span style="background-color: white;">As far as I was concerned, that was the perfect mix when I was 10 years old. Then "One Way or Another" came out with the raunchy guitar and I was hooked.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I remember seeing Blondie on TV one night. Whenever I could actually see the band on TV that I heard on the radio, I was fascinated. My parents would often point out to me when someone was lip-</span><span style="background-color: white;">syncing</span><span style="background-color: white;">. That is kind of funny that I judge performers on TV to this day because of my parents pointing this out. The snobby critics of music that they are (sarcasm). </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">We moved to Oklahoma when I was 11. "Eat to the Beat" came out and I was really into "Dreaming". I think that was my favorite song at one point. I had a serious crush on the girl across the street. She gave me no quarter. I told her I liked her and she told me she was not interested. We were 11, though, so looking back, that whole boys liking you thing was maybe kind of new to her. Plus, I probably wasn't exactly a prize at age 11, just hitting my growth spurt and growing out of the chunky 10-year old that I was.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRVs9GLq6CsxKh9h_AVTjhKkMDIHuV9ndhM_qb0w6qNnzuyWPiNc4cOViJS_vI_c2mhBGbtgWvKbZTQ8CE6h3EAOL8Kdig0b1S8GnUVA3jMJo01s_AOn3pgWojnLn_UP2K70RVVvtj6EK/s1600/blondie-ettb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRVs9GLq6CsxKh9h_AVTjhKkMDIHuV9ndhM_qb0w6qNnzuyWPiNc4cOViJS_vI_c2mhBGbtgWvKbZTQ8CE6h3EAOL8Kdig0b1S8GnUVA3jMJo01s_AOn3pgWojnLn_UP2K70RVVvtj6EK/s1600/blondie-ettb.jpg" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">I knew she liked Blondie, and her birthday was coming up, so I saved up my allowance and went and bought her the "Eat to the Beat" cassette. Surprisingly, I had it in my head that we were just friends when I did this. I swear to you that I was not being manipulative when I bought this. It was probably more like the beginning of me sharing music with people who had similar interests or were curious, something I continue to do in my life.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I remember thinking, "Jeez! A recorded tape costs more than a record!" I think it ended up being over $10 and my dad had to spring for the tax because I forgot about that part.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">When I gave that tape to Jo, it was like the next day and she wanted to hang out with me. She was being really kind, no longer stand-offish, and I was kind of confused. "So I bought you something and now you want to be my girlfriend? I wasn't good enough for you before?". This is what I was thinking. It really kind of turned me off.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">After a year in Oklahoma, we moved to Germany and I just got greasier in appearance. I had no sense of style. Three years later, we got a trip back to Oklahoma and I spent a week with my best friend, Barry. I asked him, "Hey, does Jo still live in her house?" He told me yeah. So we went around to her house. I was likely riddled with acne and hadn't showered in a day or two. Hanging out in the 90-degree Oklahoma heat. Can you imagine how delicious that was? We just show up and I started talking to her. Her younger sister recognized me right away, but Jo did not. She shot me a glare and moved away from me. Her sister told her who I was I and I could see her face get this disgusted look and she said, "Really?" At that point, I turned to Barry and said, "Come on."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The other big hit I remember was "Rapture". The Sugar Hill Gang also was on the radio at that time with their "rap" song. Then I didn't hear anything for years with that style of music. Could be because none of the kids I hung out with in Germany listened to that style of music, or the fact that we didn't have normal American pop radio in Germany. Fast forward to 1986 and MTV was blowing up with Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Once I got my CD player, I eventually picked up the "Greatest Hits" through Columbia House. A band we shared a stage with called Funky Thermos even did a cover of "Call Me", which would probably be one of my favorite songs by Blondie these days. Likely because "The Thermos" covered it. The Gear Daddies also had a cover of "The Tide is High" that they released as a B-Side. It was pretty decent.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I even made a beer named after <a href="http://freshbeereveryfriday.blogspot.com/2012/06/parallel-lines-blonde-ale.html" target="_blank">"Parallel Lines"</a>.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Jezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130897549926261047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-24183189970447244522011-11-13T16:36:00.001-05:002011-11-13T16:36:56.479-05:00In the Dynamite Jet Saloon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YYrUxlcr1XTEtFBfUSW8kU8lYOXtuBsCLD_teDNcm2jm-ia-4Jv4H-m8RWvooMiVB3Ue7FgycDyg0ryUi8MY3feqik4bI4tmR2VFPq2xo_NtBeW-ePOw8KbxoDM5kGVV5Y_3KpX1l0UW/s1600/dogsdamourDynamiteJet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YYrUxlcr1XTEtFBfUSW8kU8lYOXtuBsCLD_teDNcm2jm-ia-4Jv4H-m8RWvooMiVB3Ue7FgycDyg0ryUi8MY3feqik4bI4tmR2VFPq2xo_NtBeW-ePOw8KbxoDM5kGVV5Y_3KpX1l0UW/s320/dogsdamourDynamiteJet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>On a recent trip to Minneapolis, I met up with an old friend. Beers were opened, guitars were brought out, and my friend mentioned that he had a Dogs D'Amour album that he had found, which included a few songs from an album we played the bejesus out of in the summer of 1989 (cue Bryan Adams here) called <i>...In the Dynamite Jet Saloon</i>. <br />
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If you couldn't tell by looking at the band's photos to the left, you might think this was some sort of hair metal band in the same vein as Poison, as the cover pretty much looks like "Look What the Cat Dragged In", only these guys aren't as pretty.<br />
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<a href="http://grooveshark.com/#/playlist/The+Dogs+D+Amour+In+The+Dynamite+Jet+Saloon/63326478" target="_blank">Click here and open up this album to listen to it in another browser.</a><br />
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When I got home, I went looking to see if I could actually <i>buy</i> that album, as the album my friend had was missing some of the songs I remembered and liked. I was met with miserable failure, although it appears that lead singer, Tyla, made an up to date version of the album to celebrate the 25-year anniversary of it, with some different songs. Unfortunately, Tyla sounds like he continued to smoke and drink over the past 25 years, and so, yeah, not the same, unfortunately.<br />
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There are some obvious blues/Rolling Stones elements to this album, but to me, I get more Faces influence out of some of the songs. Around the same time, another band called the London Quireboys came out, and you can hear some similarities between them and the Dogs, but I think the Dogs are less-polished sounding than that first Quireboys album. Overall, I'd say this is a 4/5 star album. Some of the songs are basic hair metal, but others, I think, have stood the test of time well.<br />
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"Debauchery" is kind of a typical rock album opener. I really like a lot of the lyrics on this album, as they are pretty romantic for the genre. My favorite line from this song, "When the devil comes around to get you, your place is such a mess". The first 4 songs on side one of the album are all pretty great, though. <br />
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The next song is "I Don't Want You to Go":<br />
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The third song also has a more polished video:<br />
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I guess I don't really know where I'm going with this. Mostly I just wanted to share this album with folks because I was surprised how much I like it still after all these years. I really like "The Last Bandit", "Sometimes", "Billy Two Rivers" and "Wait Until I'm Dead". I never really followed these guys after this. I sort of got into the whole grunge thing and then alternative country. But they probably cross into the same style of music Steve Earle was trying to make at the time. Check out how "Sometimes" shares the same feel as Earle's "Someday".<br />
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I dunno. What do you got?<br />
</div>Jezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130897549926261047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-88457128820034838982009-10-23T07:28:00.003-04:002009-10-23T08:24:09.586-04:00Miles and Miles to Put It Back Together<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM91cF-tGATAVTZKWiZ1QjZxIS4WeG0Ulogftr6gMcEOiJwQedGJ25SMU7aRXNE5uYTmg-JOBL3FcMNXsh6TgwO8wEQXyw_ep4koCR75CYG1a7nLn1vnJXOVuhlmgRR2XhCj5sEeHdMZbK/s1600-h/judaspriestPOE.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395769766719378450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM91cF-tGATAVTZKWiZ1QjZxIS4WeG0Ulogftr6gMcEOiJwQedGJ25SMU7aRXNE5uYTmg-JOBL3FcMNXsh6TgwO8wEQXyw_ep4koCR75CYG1a7nLn1vnJXOVuhlmgRR2XhCj5sEeHdMZbK/s320/judaspriestPOE.jpg" /></a>I turn 41 today. I definitely don't <em>feel</em> 41. I maybe feel more like I did when I was in my mid-20s. Luckily, I don't have aching parts of my body. I still don't wear glasses, or really need to, although I can tell my vision is not as sharp as it used to be. I can't read street signs 4 blocks away anymore, and while I miss that superpower, I have learned to be more patient and read the sign when I get closer.<br /><br />I was driving home last night listening to a workout playlist when Judas Priest's "Heading Out to the Highway" came on over the car speakers. There are a lot of songs that are great metaphorically, and my favorite ones are probably about living life, and out of those, Bob Dylan's "Mississippi" would probably be my favorite, even though it's more about life <em>and</em> death.<br /><br />Metal gets a bad rap for being big and dumb. And it is. That is why we like it, I think. The song before "Heading Out" was Saxon's "Denim and Leather", which has the lyrics<em>, Did you read the music paper from the back and to the front</em>, which also reminded me that kids that listened to metal got a bad rap as being big and dumb. But Saxon knew we read, and it wasn't just the music paper.<br /><br />"Heading Out to the Highway" starts out with the kind of riff that made Judas Priest an influence over the genre. The drums and bass kick in, then Rob Halford sings:<br /><br /><em>Well I've said it before, and I'll say it again</em><br /><em>You get nothin' for nothin', expect it when</em><br /><em>You're back seat drivin' and your hands ain't on the wheel</em><br /><em>It's easy to go along with the crowd</em><br /><em>And find later on that your say ain't allowed</em><br /><em>Oh thats the way to find what you've been missin' </em><br /><em></em><br />This is a good lesson for all you teenagers out there. While it's nice to go out and have fun, you also need to be focused on getting your shit together so that when the time comes, you can make your move instead of wondering what the hell happened.<br /><br />I can't even remember the class I was taking in college that involved writing a resume. I believe it was in my third year, and as I was trying to fill the thing with information, I sort of freaked out because other than go to classes, work shit jobs, and play in various bands, I didn't have anything that appeared credible to go on the resume. Soon thereafter, I became a resident assistant, and when I had to do an internship, I didn't opt for the easy one at the university, but took 8 months off to go work in a real factory doing real industrial safety work, which is what I do today.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you not to have a good time (yeah, everyone who knows me can tell you that), but just watch for opportunities and think about what you want to do down the road.<br /><br /><em>You can hang in a left or hang in a right</em><br /><em>The choice it is yours to do as you might</em><br /><em>The road is open wide to place your biddin'</em><br /><em>Now, wherever you turn, wherever you go</em><br /><em>If you get it wrong, at least you can know</em><br /><em>There's miles and miles to put it back together</em><br /><em></em><br />That second verse has such a positive message. If you fuck it up, don't worry about it, you can always change and find a different way. This is an important message to remember with your relationships with people, as well. It can apply to changing carrers when you're middle age. The key here is that Halford has a healthy attitude about it; he knows if he goes the wrong way, he's still got miles and miles to put it back together, it doesn't have to happen right then and there.<br /><br /><em>Makin' a curve or takin' the strain</em><br /><em>On the decline, or out on the wain</em><br /><em>Oh everybody breaks down sooner or later</em><br /><em>We'll put it to rights, well square up and mend</em><br /><em>Back on your feet to take the next bend</em><br /><em>You weather every storm that's comin' at cha</em><br /><em></em><br />Yeah, you're gonna get old. But try to stay in shape and eat right. Everybody breaks down sooner or later.<br /><br />So there's my message of wisdom to you on my 41st birthday. No Springsteen "Thunder Road" or mystical Dylan song. Just the leadoff tune from a 28-year old Judas Priest album. If you need me, you'll know where to find me:<br /><br /><em>So I'm heading out to the highway</em><br /><em>I've got nothing to lose at all</em><br /><em>Gonna do it my way</em><br /><em>Take a chance before I fall</em><br /><br /><p align="center"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MoDbAd4fYBA&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MoDbAd4fYBA&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p>Jezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130897549926261047noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-83257752900741500872009-10-22T08:29:00.000-04:002009-10-22T08:29:00.560-04:00Tea and Bloody Crumpets<div>Doors for the Emilie Autumn show were supposed to be at seven. They weren't. It was much closer to eight. My compatriots and I stood around in the autumn chill and the spitting rain shivering and talking and poking fun at the goth kids in line. There were quite a few of them (OK, that's an understatment). I was wearing a corset and black pants, and I still looked downright normal. Make of that what you will. There were actually quite a few kids in attendance, which I found highly amusing. There were parents there, standing next to their gothed out kids. I admire those parents their coolness. If I’d tried to get either of my parents to take me to a show at that age—let alone an industrial/goth show—I’d have been laughed at.<br /><div><div><br />The stage was already set up when we were let inside. And the line at the merch table was a mile long. We headed for one of the bars and got drinks, then milled about with everyone else waiting for the show to start. None of us thought to try and get close to the stage at that point, so by the time I wanted to get closer, there was really no way to do so without pissing someone off.<br /><div><div><div><br /><div>This show? It was worth the wait. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this was more than just a concert. The four Bloody Crumpets (Captain Maggot, Naughty Veronica, Aprella and the Blessed Contessa) made their entrance to “Best Safety Lies in Fear” which is a mostly instrumental track. Emilie made her entrance singing “4 O’clock”. It was a fabulous start to a fabulous show. And let me reiterate to make myself perfectly clear: this was more than just a concert. These women don’t just stand around singing to the crowd (who all sang back for the most part, myself included). They put on a show. The theatricality and the talent of these women is astounding. </div><br /><div>Following the intro came “Opheliac,” to resounding cheers. Emilie ended up playing the majority of her album, but that wasn’t all she did. Maggot left the stage shortly into the show and reappeared on the balcony. To the left of the stage hung a big hoop, and Maggot deftly climbed over the balcony and dropped into the hoop, where she twirled and flipped for the duration of the song, finally dropping into the crowd at the end. She is crazy and awesome. During “Shalott” (which is definitely based on the Tennyson, in case you were wondering), Emilie took a break to chat with the crowd. Normally I think something like that would bug me—get on with the song!—but it worked well here.<br /><br /></div><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3490/4024367192_370fe685da_m.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 180px; float: left; height: 240px;" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3490/4024367192_370fe685da_m.jpg" border="0" /></a>Emilie and the other three girls took a break during Dominant, an instrumental, and Veronica, who is also a burlesque dancer, did a fan dance. To the vast disappointment of everyone, but especially the douche who would not stop screaming the WHOLE NIGHT (and not in a fun way, but in a drunk and douchey way), she didn’t lose any of her clothes.<br /><br />Oh, speaking of that guy. We all remarked at one point or another during the night how badly we wanted to do grievous bodily harm to him. I can understand being appreciative of an artist—I did my fair share of screaming too. I can even understand being appreciative of the female forms on stage—Emilie and all the crumpets are extremely beautiful and they perform in elaborate corsetry and not a whole lot else, and they look damn good doing it. But this guy was ridiculous. He was the biggest annoyance of the night. He was practically the only annoyance of the night (the other being that my feet were killing me by about halfway through the show). Seriously, folks, please show your appreciation, but don’t be that drunken asshole that inspires anger in your fellow concert-goers.<br /><div> </div><br />I loved the interaction with the crowd that Emilie and the girls all worked for. They did a good job of it. Veronica played the Rat Game, in which she announces that she’s never kissed a girl in Baltimore, then pulled a member of the crowd up on stage and kissed her. It’s really cool that all the girls have their own talents. Maggot does her thing with the hoops, and Veronica has her dance. The Blessed Contessa, as it turns out, does some awesome Cirque de Soleil-style thing with a sheet. I wish I knew what it was called, but it involves twisting herself in a sheet and obvious acrobatic skill.<br /><div><br /></div>She’s also a fire-eater. During “Dead is the New Alive”, she performed that feat, and then lit up the fire hoop for Maggots to do her thing with. It was stunning. I was floored by the talent these girls possess, and I loved how involved the show was.<br /><div><br /></div>The thing about EA? Her voice? Her awesome (in the original sense of the word) voice? That huge voice comes out of this tiny creature. And it’s deliciously unedited. What you hear on her album is what you get, folks. She’s not one of those studio created artists—she really does sing like that. It’s sweet and scary and powerful and amazing. She really does play the harpsichord as well as the violin.<br /><div><br /></div><br /><div> </div>My favorite part of the night, which which I’d been looking forward to for weeks, w<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3526/4023597247_36997c2e6c_m.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 240px; float: right; height: 180px;" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3526/4023597247_36997c2e6c_m.jpg" border="0" /></a>as when Emilie got out her violin and played for us. I’m pretty sure words can’t even express how amazing she is with her instrument. Not only that, but it was abundantly clear throughout both of her violin pieces that *this* is what she really loves to do—and I’m pretty sure if asked she would consider the violin an extension of herself instead of a mere instrument. She is, first and foremost, an amazingly talented violinist. I was in awe.<br /><div><br /></div><br /><div> </div>Possibly the only disappointment I felt all night was that she didn’t play my favorite song from Opheliac, “Swallow”. It wasn’t really much of a disappointment however, considering the show I witnessed. They closed the show with a fucking awesome cover of Bohemian Rhapsody. Emilie played the guitar parts on her violin. Did I mention that she shreds on that thing?<br /><div><br /></div>Emilie Autumn’s <em>Opheliac Deluxe Edition</em> is due on October 27. Meanwhile, check out her <a href="http://www.emilieautumn.com/dates.html">website</a> and show some love.<br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>(Oh, and if you’re interested, the playlist below is as close an approximation of her set list as I could manage, for your listening enjoyment.)<br /><br /><object height="400" width="250"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/widget.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="window"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=16136687&style=metal&bbg=5e5757&bfg=D6D6D6&bt=000847&bth=000000&pbg=0c0847&pbgh=D6D6D6&pfg=FFFFFF&pfgh=000847&si=7A7A7A&lbg=000847&lbgh=5e5e57&lfg=FFFFFF&lfgh=000847&sb=000847&sbh=D6D6D6&p=0"> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/widget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=16136687&style=metal&bbg=5e5757&bfg=D6D6D6&bt=000847&bth=000000&pbg=0c0847&pbgh=D6D6D6&pfg=FFFFFF&pfgh=000847&si=7A7A7A&lbg=000847&lbgh=5e5e57&lfg=FFFFFF&lfgh=000847&sb=000847&sbh=D6D6D6&p=0" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="400" width="250"></embed></object></div><br /><br /><br /><div><em><span style="font-size:78%;">This article is cross-posted on </span><a href="http://echoesofechoes.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-size:78%;">Lizzie's blog</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> (where it appears in a longer and far more fangirly version).</span></em></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Lizziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12639850172943893454noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-10962647456240573602009-10-19T08:00:00.001-04:002009-10-19T08:00:03.983-04:00Music News: Re-re-re-remix<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:QpVpwmEtTT4GRM:http://monteemusic.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/passionpit.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 142px; height: 111px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:QpVpwmEtTT4GRM:http://monteemusic.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/passionpit.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Indie darlings <span style="font-weight: bold;">Passion Pit</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chairlift</span> met backstage at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Bonnaroo</span> this summer, developed a friendship and have since created remixes of each other's songs. Chairlift remixed Passion Pit's "To Kingdom Come" and Passion Pit remixed Chairlift's "Bruises," which you've probably heard in commercials for Apple. Click <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/10/14/chairlift-and-passion-pit-swap-remixes-hear-the-tracks/">here</a> for the full Rolling Stone article, which also includes free links to download the remixes.<br /><br /><object width="250" height="40"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="window"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15986044&style=metal&p=0"> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15986044&style=metal&p=0" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" width="250" height="40"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="250" height="40"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="window"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15986065&style=metal&p=0"> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15986065&style=metal&p=0" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" width="250" height="40"></embed></object><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:BDQxWX0zyAuBVM:http://sonymusicphil.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/kings-of-leon-only-by-the-night2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 100px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:BDQxWX0zyAuBVM:http://sonymusicphil.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/kings-of-leon-only-by-the-night2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kings of Leon</span> are releasing a live concert DVD titled <i>Live at the O2 London, England</i> on November 10<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">th</span>. The footage was filmed on June 30<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">th</span>, 2009 and contains 22 songs from all four of their albums. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">KOL</span> is also working on an <span style="font-style: italic;">Only By the Night</span> remix album. They will be collaborating with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Justin <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Timberlake</span></span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Pharrell</span> Williams</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mark <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ronson</span></span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Lykki</span> Li</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Linkin</span> Park</span> to take the album from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">rockin</span>' to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Funkytown</span>. I'm interested to see how this turns out, because it sounds scary to me.<br /><br />This news<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:TKpf9aQw1hVgaM:http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/10/15/a-ha.jpg%3F1255616666"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 91px; height: 125px;" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:TKpf9aQw1hVgaM:http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/10/15/a-ha.jpg%3F1255616666" alt="" border="0" /></a> is probably more heartbreaking to Europeans than Americans, but <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Norwegian</span> pop band <span style="font-weight: bold;">a-h</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">a</span> is hanging up their hats and retiring. Formed in 1982 the group found worldwide fame with their hit "Take On Me," also one of my favorite 80's songs. They retire with nine albums to their name, and lead singer Morten <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Harket</span> still looking hot. Their final concert will be in Oslo on December 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">th</span>, which is fittingly my birthday. Who wants to buy me <span style="font-style: italic;">that</span> as my gift?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14"><br />Bon</span> Iver</span> announced on their <a href="http://www.boniver.org/">website</a> that Justin Vernon will be taking a break from live performances, "...for the foreseeable future." His last performance before this break was<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:OJWWVVV4aaeTHM:http://21.media.tumblr.com/cTJZbmxfr5lcrriwyeeJFVCU_r1_400.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 93px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:OJWWVVV4aaeTHM:http://21.media.tumblr.com/cTJZbmxfr5lcrriwyeeJFVCU_r1_400.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> in Milwaukee, WI. Click <a href="http://blog.radiomilwaukee.org/2009/10/12/bon-iver-concert-audio-from-101109-at-riverside-theater/">here</a> to stream it. It looks like there won't be any live performances featuring <span style="font-weight: bold;">Vo</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">lcano Choir</span>, his collaboration with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Collection</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">s of Colonies of Bees</span>, whom he just put out an album with last month. At least not anytime soon. While we await his return, you can listen to his collaboration with <span style="font-weight: bold;">St. Vincent</span> titled "Roslyn" for the movie <span style="font-style: italic;">New Moon</span> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/twilight">here</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Jn9CoNwUnoYnTM:http://showcase.netins.net/web/creed/creed%2520pose.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 88px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Jn9CoNwUnoYnTM:http://showcase.netins.net/web/creed/creed%2520pose.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>And here's a sign that this world just might be alright after all. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Creed</span> tickets were selling for 75 cents on Ticketmaster's website for their Birmingham, Alabama show last week. I have nothing else to say about this other than, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA</span>!!!!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">-Felicia</span>Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270331661418915316noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-60275315420759777402009-10-15T19:33:00.011-04:002009-10-15T23:20:14.295-04:00Singing Without Lyrics, or At Least That's What it Sounds Like<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikoadDk04rtXKCD643-64qsXV_uoDKzLrny_TvI7B_FxtWMxCByRu8DcG2rRPuqM1V1d81-i2gvuWB9ijcVTfHnGh2xwye8461waX5k3SLzK0jpxqF5kwP7sDWCWBgjG265ItB6VtIP70/s1600-h/pictureplane.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikoadDk04rtXKCD643-64qsXV_uoDKzLrny_TvI7B_FxtWMxCByRu8DcG2rRPuqM1V1d81-i2gvuWB9ijcVTfHnGh2xwye8461waX5k3SLzK0jpxqF5kwP7sDWCWBgjG265ItB6VtIP70/s320/pictureplane.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393028221861782610" border="0" /></a>I often feel like I don't listen enough to the words. When I take in a song, I absorb its melodies, its textures, and its structure. It's just what my ears/brain naturally do. This is probably the reason I ended up help creating and hosting an <a href="http://nowlikephotographs.com/">instrumental radio show</a> for 4+ years on the local college station in town. At the age of 20 when I had discovered modern instrumental post-rock, ambient, neo-classical, and bedroom electronic music, I didn't understand why any of it wasn't as popular as the trendy indie rock bands of the time, who I also appreciated, but trust me, not because I thought they were all brilliant poets. Some of them were, for sure, and those ones I loved even more, but I was often too busy investing my time in the instrumentation and orchestration of the songs I loved, not the lyrical content thereof. Having grown as a music lover in this particular way, I have recently delved into a certain type of song that I hope satisfies those who enjoy (need?) vocals in their music, but can take a second to appreciate the atmospheres and pure ecstasy of patterned sounds. Here are my ten favorite songs (right now) that feature vocals, but no discernible (to my ears, anyway) lyrics. Enjoy.<br /><br /><center><object height="377" width="250"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/widget.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="window"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15966859&style=metal&bbg=5e5757&bfg=D6D6D6&bt=000847&bth=000000&pbg=0c0847&pbgh=D6D6D6&pfg=FFFFFF&pfgh=000847&si=7A7A7A&lbg=000847&lbgh=5e5e57&lfg=FFFFFF&lfgh=000847&sb=000847&sbh=D6D6D6&p=0"> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/widget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15966859&style=metal&bbg=5e5757&bfg=D6D6D6&bt=000847&bth=000000&pbg=0c0847&pbgh=D6D6D6&pfg=FFFFFF&pfgh=000847&si=7A7A7A&lbg=000847&lbgh=5e5e57&lfg=FFFFFF&lfgh=000847&sb=000847&sbh=D6D6D6&p=0" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="377" width="250"></embed></object></center><br /><br />First we start with the song that inspired this post, which I listened to today when I suddenly had an urge to hear something a little crazy, a little serene, but something neither calmly instrumental nor aggravatingly poppy. "Goth Star" by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pictureplane</span> was the answer to my strange desire. I don't know anything about this artist, but I happened to grab the track earlier this year and while I merely mildly enjoyed it at first, now I could keep listening to it on repeat for the rest of the night without complaint. The vocals cut in and out like a jittery trance song, but it's all looped too blissfully steadily for it too come off as annoying or forced. Likewise, "Sugarette" by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Bibio</span> is a piece that's fragmented in its hip hop beats and bleeps, but also manages to waft breezily through the headphones, never sitting still, but also never inducing a headache. Chipmunk pitch-shifted vocals teeter in the background and pulse forward on the beat intermittently, but what he's saying, no one knows, and the song's all the better because of it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinenwJkLzl_8PPuf8Xf8B3YG8EbVFC6lrZDsd_OoHm0cTDZTxrzrbYwBRWounbltUnxveid6TQZOEXvhYd40pfE4rOzeYZozYHLeqVCiHCK8V3U1q6ldu41LCSRLrxxuVBQ3Eoj5Oare0/s1600-h/port.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinenwJkLzl_8PPuf8Xf8B3YG8EbVFC6lrZDsd_OoHm0cTDZTxrzrbYwBRWounbltUnxveid6TQZOEXvhYd40pfE4rOzeYZozYHLeqVCiHCK8V3U1q6ldu41LCSRLrxxuVBQ3Eoj5Oare0/s320/port.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393028102040668258" border="0" /></a>The gorgeous electronic chaos of tracks like these dips its toes into shoegaze with "Nights in Kiev" by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Port-Royal</span>, where cut-up glitch is covered up with a sheen of washed-out antarctic synths. Heavily reverbed whispers lilt in and out throughout, but the stars of the show are the careening plasticine melodies that don't duel so much as frolic. It sounds sad, but the notes soar and climax with such hope and longing that it feels revitalizing to hear. In "Clear Skies Above the Coastline Cathedral" by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Manual</span>, another epic dream-pop track, the voices are even more subtle (but somehow covering both lows, mids, and highs of the song), just peeking slightly out over the grand canyon electro beat and contemplative guitar swells. And as those acoustic/electric guitars sprinkle into each other more and more as the song progresses, with every riff becoming more and more magical...wow. It's so exhausting and uplifting to listen to, I feel like I need to pause for a minute before I do anything after the song ends. Good thing it's over eight minutes long, otherwise it would just feel like a tease. On the other end of the shoegaze spectrum is "Ashes Maths" by <span style="font-weight: bold;">A Sunny Day in Glasgow</span>, in which the vocals are incredibly overpowering, but so heavily processed and elliptical that you can't tell which end's up or how the hell these loops were even created. It's magnanimous and ominous, but just as gut-wrenchingly beautiful as anything else on the list.<br /><br />Ululations from the larynx are also quite prevalent on "Leyendecker" by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Battles</span>, which starts stepping even further into rock territory, but also remains firmly in the electronic camp as well, with its precise keyboard tinkling and angular drum patterns. I suppose the same pitch-shifting that Bibio used in the aforementioned song is going on here, but it sounds less forest animal and more dungeon gremlin, which makes this track sound creepy (it is), but it's also downright fierce and pristine, making it indelibly delicious. Similarly, "The Devil Bends" by <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Dead Sea</span> gets a little mean, but this time moving things more in the gritty and ramshackle direction. The reversed and affected lyrics make almost every word save "devil" unrecognizable, and it completely makes the song in this instance. Most of these tracks get their strength from their layered instrumental complexities, but The Dead Sea instead deliver a prodigiously straightforward guitar and drums track with wispy and wandering vocals sprayed atop to sculpt a soundscape that is uniquely frustrated in two distinct ways. And the combination is what makes it so satisfying.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhygFrNiZ8Wkot-5yQS3rSSPUsSKLR3ZkEKdlZo8cSezgtkMBKGYc2lyD2nuEfgLixdLorWC5i2L5qn7uUZqpkd_3uLz-0_RtWYnwwQeFxETaKPoq-yyHK_hb9BouO_7NkM_cSxe2ExkSg/s1600-h/FUck+Buttons.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhygFrNiZ8Wkot-5yQS3rSSPUsSKLR3ZkEKdlZo8cSezgtkMBKGYc2lyD2nuEfgLixdLorWC5i2L5qn7uUZqpkd_3uLz-0_RtWYnwwQeFxETaKPoq-yyHK_hb9BouO_7NkM_cSxe2ExkSg/s320/FUck+Buttons.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393027785185763362" border="0" /></a>Things start getting even more minimal and ghostly with "Glory Gongs" by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Forest </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Swords</span>, which sounds to me, by all accounts, like a blues song. Sure the only evidences of this are its wilting guitar licks and quietly aching lumbering percussion, but what else do you need? How about two somber but pleading vocal riffs that sound like they're recorded and played back on warped vinyl through a phonograph, and repeated whenever there's an open space for hurt to be heard. And of course what would hurting be without a little bit of screaming? "Sweet Love For Planet Earth" by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fuck Buttons</span> proves the UK duo to be the masters of melding together dense mosaics of fuzz and brightness, muddy noise and effervescent minutae, throaty scuzz and lullaby ambience. If that sounds effed up beyond comprehension to you, that's because it is. The story and/or mental process behind how they came up with this aesthetic is either terrifying and/or unexplainable, and thus, we shan't hypothesize here. Just listen to believe it. Yells from the belly and the bowels of hell are also used with finesse and aplomb in our final track for the playlist, "Aves" by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Gifts From Enola</span>. Like the penultimate, this one takes its sweet time to get to the meat of it all, but it's well worth it. It's a prime example of post-rock done right: just enough pretentiousness to make it ethereally cryptic and epic, but enough accessibly rocking sequences to make it alternate between wondering you with its elegance and gutting you like a fish. And when those bellowing snarls rise up from under the raucousness and the WTF tapping guitar and insane drum rolls come pouring throuhg, it's like you've won an aural lottery, my friends.<br /><br />And it just keeps getting better if you keep exploring more artists that specialize in this kind of unique song, such as <span style="font-weight: bold;">Holy Fuck</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">WZT Hearts</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Julianna Barwick</span>, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Irepress</span>. Surely there's others out there too, and I wanna know about 'em! Share, please!chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09766611910601990375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-36107032477911744432009-10-13T12:00:00.001-04:002009-10-13T12:00:02.244-04:00Terra InfirmaJuliette Lewis: <span style="font-style: italic;">Terra Incognita<br /></span>[The End Records]<br /><br />Here's a question for you: if I spent pretty much the entire length of this album pondering just how crazypants Juliette Lewis must be, does that make me crazypants too? Or does it just make me a special kind of masochistic? Of course, if I wasn't already nuts, I'm pretty sure suffering through this aural abomination sent me straight off the edge. God, it was awful. Awful. <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">AWFUL</span>.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Let me get the good bit out of the way first. It'll be short and sweet. Juliette's backing band? Those guys? They're good. I don't know if she just grabbed a bunch of session guys or actually formed a band, but they can play. The music itself was lovely and crisp, lots of heavy guitars and drums. Nice beats, well played, no problem there. There were numerous instances throughout my extended suffering where I wished that I could just erase her voice entirely, subbing in something not as grating. Or even better, just do without any singer and listen only to the backing track. I can't complain about the musicians that form her band at all.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Now. Juliette herself? Good God, y'all. It got to the point where I really wanted to hammer screwdrivers into my ears just to make the pain stop. I had to stop for listening for a bit to go do something else, and when I came back and a new song started, I exclaimed, “Oh good God there’s more?!” True story.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I very nearly just turned off the CD after track three and wrote this based entirely on the first three tracks. However, I told myself that I was the one who'd gotten me into this mess, so I owed it to... someone... to listen to the whole album. Give it a fair shot, I told myself. It might get better. Maybe it's just this one song. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Well, no. It wasn't just that one song. After about the seventh track, I stopped telling myself that, too.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I hate Juliette Lewis's voice. And I don't really like her music any better. She does this wail-rasp-whine thing that made me angrier with each passing song. And then she switched to this almost singing thing that was less raspy and more breathy, but put me in mind of her trying really hard to sound sweet and kinda lilting. Yet she failed. She failed a lot. Not only that, but the weird sorta-kinda hippieish Southerny thing that she was doing music-wise just didn’t fit with me. It felt like she was trying to be Janice Joplin. And honestly, I’ve never liked her music either. I can see Juliette doing a hippie thing with her music, despite her penchant for spandex when performing. She has that sort of vibe.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I tried; I really did try to give the album a fair shot. I thought about why I hated it so much as I was listening to it. It was hard to fight through my hatred though. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I thought a lot about whether or not this constitutes a vanity project on her part. And normally I’d say yes, of course it does. But for her, I don’t think it is. I think she really takes herself and her music way too seriously, and really feels like she’s making some sort of art. After all, this isn’t her first project. I wish I could just write it off as </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I’m sure there are plenty of folks out there who would really enjoy this album. I am not one of them. It didn’t feel new or interesting or at all innovative. Beyond hating her voice, it just wasn’t an entertaining album. Nothing to see here, move along, folks.</p>Lizziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12639850172943893454noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-7479921075254028822009-10-09T08:00:00.003-04:002009-10-09T08:01:02.029-04:00Fly, Fly, Fly.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5yHpKPnl7mN7y6dkfldF8J3RKcamtIO4XjD_kJ4wevSs5y0431D0zqmqdkk_RK8FzMrrRFx93sn85Lon30cMmtTI1LHAL9T8Pbym0ImjvqbKC9BmqSScYYTSeSKphh4gxGXEk_Eb79WbL/s1600-h/61F4mOwjIFL.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5yHpKPnl7mN7y6dkfldF8J3RKcamtIO4XjD_kJ4wevSs5y0431D0zqmqdkk_RK8FzMrrRFx93sn85Lon30cMmtTI1LHAL9T8Pbym0ImjvqbKC9BmqSScYYTSeSKphh4gxGXEk_Eb79WbL/s200/61F4mOwjIFL.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390415199442942450" /></a><br /><b>Mae</b>: <i>(m)orning</i><br />[Cell Records]<br /><br />Well. Look who didn't do his research.<br /><br />I've been a fan of Mae (short for Multi-sensory aesthetic experience) for quite a while now. After their last release (2007's <i>Singularity</i>), however, I lost track of them. Despite a few standout songs, <i>Singularity</i> just wasn't quite as good as their previous record, <i>The Everglow</i>, and for two years I didn't think much about the band until an e-mail from Amazon arrived in my inbox informing me about their latest release, <i>(m)orning</i>. Naturally, I assumed it was just a new album. I bought it, and have been listening to it in preparation for a review. But, to be honest, I didn't actually seek any information on it until I sat down to write this piece. It seems as though I've fallen behind, because this record has quite a story.<br /><br />It would seem that not long after the release of <i>Singularity</i>, two of Mae's five members parted with the band. In 2008, the remaining band members split with Capitol Records. Left with no label and a feeling of creative freedom that they'd heretofore not felt, Mae began a complete overhaul of their career; not necessarily their musical style, but their goals, aspirations and philosophy. The idea was thus: throughout 2009, Mae would be dedicating their musical efforts to three charities; they would release one song per month on their <a href="http://whatismae.com">website</a>, available as a digital download for a minimum donation of one dollar. They would also compile these songs--along with a few others--into three separate EPs, for sale at their shows and representing three phases of the project ((m)orning, (a)fternoon and (e)vening) and three different charities. All profits from the sales of the EPs would be donated to their respective charities. According to their site, since January 1st, they have raised over $55,000 for Habitat For Humanity and DonorsChoose.<br /><br />After digesting all this, I feel like my tone for this review should be a little different. Admittedly, I had to listen to <i>(m)orning</i> a few times to really get a feel for it, but I do like it (bear with me, I will elaborate). And I'll also admit that much of this--the high-mindedness, the adherence to the (mae) acronym, the <i>scratch-and-sniff</i> CD sleeves they sold at their shows--might come off, to those previously unfamiliar with Mae, as pretentious. Bono-ish, even. But I find it difficult to doubt the earnestness of something like this:<br /><br /><i>"Our promise to you is to commit all of the profits from digital downloads to fund humanitarian projects that Mae and you will be a part of all year long. Like a fire that spreads without boundaries, we can ignite a change in this world if we work together. As we tie our voices, our resources, our minds, and most importantly our actions together, we will see the world change for the better over the course of this year and beyond. Take this music and this mission and run with it."</i><br /><br />This isn't just lip-service; Mae is actually <i>doing</i> this, and they're doing it without any press, promotion or fanfare. To say that they're doing it for any other reason than that they truly believe in it is, I think, hopelessly cynical.<br /><br />All of that said: the CD/DVD version of <i>(m)orning</i> that was released in September is not a charity release, but the motivation behind its composition and recording remains the same. And as a record in its own right, it's damn good; certainly nothing if not interesting. Absent Rob Sweitzer's keyboards, which were an integral part of Mae's previous sound, the band's remaining members have moved--musically--in a more "progressive" direction. While <i>The Everglow</i> was a concept album, and definitely progressive in that aspect, its individual songs were mostly standard verse-chorus-verse rock tunes. With <i>(m)orning</i>, however, we're presented with some longer and more intricate songs, meandering in structure and tempo changes, and an overall sense of musical freedom and daring. I think that Mae tried to be a little more daring on <i>Singularity</i>, which was mostly a let-down. It appears that when they describe finding themselves with "no limitations," and of being "continually inspired with creativity," they're (again) not just spewing platitudes; the daring of <i>(m)orning</i> is--while a little tougher to get a grasp on--infinitely more satisfying.<br /><br />Now, don't take me wrong, here: by "a little tougher to get a grasp on," I don't mean that <i>(m)orning</i> is inaccessible, discordant or non-melodic; far from it. I simply mean that--as I said earlier--it took me a few listens to really get a feel for the record. The elements that characterize Mae's style are all here, but they're put together in an altogether different way. While the keyboards may be sparse, there are a number of flutes and winds that really do make the album feel like, well, the morning. Mae's managed to thicken their guitar sounds--in the writing, in the effects and production, and by adding in some acoustics and twelve-strings--which mostly fill the void left by the lack of the piano. The jazzy instrumental opening track fades and gives way to the quiet opening of "The Fisherman (We All Need Love)," which begins with one of the more endearing guitar progressions I've heard from this band. In addition, this first section of the nearly nine-minute song presents a spectacular bassline once the rhythm section kicks in; it follows the chord progression while playing with octaves and adding quick riffs that give a beautiful life to this early part of <i>(m)orning</i>. This little piece of the song only lasts for just over a minute before the song veers into another movement, but these sixty-two-odd seconds do a superb job of grabbing one's attention. "The Fisherman" thrills through its nine minutes and numerous musical movements before closing with Dave Elkins'--displaying a newfound vocal power and confidence--sustained blast of "we all need love" over a dual-octave power chord riff.<br /><br /><object width="250" height="40"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></param> <param name="wmode" value="window"></param> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15786759&style=wood&p=0"></param> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="250" height="40" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15786759&style=wood&p=0" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="window"></embed></object><br /><br />Though only five of <i>(m)orning</i>'s eight tracks have lyrics, each of these five songs is well-developed enough to make the whole of the record feel worthwhile. "The House That Fire Built," in addition to being the call-to-arms of Mae's new philosophy, alternates effectively between driving and marching beats and remains compelling through its seven minutes. "Boomerang" sports some truly interesting guitar composition and performance, a nice horn section during its instrumental section, and an <i>excellent</i> middle-eight; it also flows seamlessly into "Two Birds," a very pretty acoustic guitar-and-flute interlude song. Each of the record's songs is distinct, but they share enough in style and execution that they create a satisfying whole.<br /><br />Even if Mae's aims with <i>(m)orning</i> weren't so lofty, it would be well worth your time; it stands up on its own impressively. As they are, though, I hope those of you that enjoy their music will consider supporting their cause. A number of songs from the upcoming <i>(a)fternoon</i> and <i>(e)vening</i> albums are currently available as songs-of-the-month on Mae's website, and they're all well worth the modest donation being asked for their download. To see a relatively unknown act emerge from professional turmoil with such selfless dedication and purpose--and to do so with some of the best music of their career--is both inspiring and noteworthy. Even if one didn't care to donate to Mae's cause, the commercial release of <i>(m)orning</i> is far from the worst you could do with $6.99. Whatever their motives are in its creation, I'm looking forward to the rest of this "day."Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08593957419942795980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-44752534713312213182009-10-08T10:00:00.003-04:002009-10-08T10:00:02.077-04:00You've Gotta Work It<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I was lucky enough Tuesday night to be treated to a rather impromptu (for me, anyway) mini-concert as well as a thank you song from two different artists, one of whom I was already a fan of, and the other I think I’m about to become a fan of.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">See, I follow Amanda Fucking Palmer on Twitter (@<a href="http://twitter.com/amandapalmer">amandapalmer</a>). Why? Well, because I find her interesting, and I like her music. Also, I like her eyebrows. I saw through the power of Twitter that she was plugging a live-on-the-interwebs encore concert by Matthew Ebel (@<a href="http://twitter.com/matthewebel">matthewebe</a>l). Intrigued by both the concept and the fact that AFP was plugging it, I moseyed on over to ustream to check it out.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Turns out the concerts are a regular occurrence. Matt performs live on his <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/channel/matthew-ebel-on-tour">ustream channel</a> every Tuesday night at 6 EDT. He’s got the <a href="http://www.matthewebel.com/">prerequisite website</a>, but in addition he runs a subscription service for his fans, giving them access to extra concerts at a base price; if you choose a higher level you get subscription-only tracks and other goodies. So he gets up there with his computer and his keyboard and jams out on the interwebs. He’s even got robot back-up singers. There’s a chat room next to the video screen, and he follows along—one of the regulars mentioned last night that it sometimes throws him off when he’s performing. The regulars let folks know what song is playing; they also answer questions and join in the fun. It’s a really organic sort of scene: just a bunch of folks watching someone whose music they enjoy and chatting with each other.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Also, he sings about the world ending. And about a girl who is killed by a train. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I dig what AFP’s been doing of late to support herself. She released her first solo album about a year ago, and she’s been doing all kinds of stuff to promote herself and attract fans and support herself. She strikes me as pretty ridiculously market-savvy as well as aware of what her fans want of her. She hasn’t relied on her record company to promote her; from what I understand, they didn’t do much of it anyway. So she’s gotta find a way to pay her bills.<br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">She’s used Twitter to her great advantage in this—proving the power of the internet and that of connecting with one’s fans. There have been several, as she calls them, ninja gigs around the country. She’s in whatever town for whatever reason, and she tells her fans via Twitter that she’ll be performing here at this time, for donations, and folks come out and hang out with her and watch an acoustic set. She released her book, <a href="http://whokilledamandapalmer.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Who Killed Amanda Palmer</span></a>, full of pictures of herself dead, and with words by Neil Gaiman. She’s done at least one webcast auction where she put stuff up for sale from her tours over the years.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">In a world where it seems like more and more artists go the recluse route—who can blame them with the way the media treats the famous these days?—it’s really cool to feel like an artist is trying to get closer to their fans.I don’t know a whole helluva lot about the state of the music industry except what I’ve heard from the disillusioned and disenfranchised within it—the indie artists who are just trying to get their music out there, make fans, and pay their rent. But it sounds like the internet, while it’s made stealing music ridiculously easy, also makes it possible for musicians to make new fans, and reach those fans, and helps them support themselves. They just need to learn how to use it without giving too much of themselves to their fans (because, lets face it: people be crazy).</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">And who can blame someone for promoting themselves in new and interesting ways, especially considering the state of the economy? You hear about some of the bigger artists out there, like NIN and Radiohead offering up albums for whatever fans want to pay for them, which is neat and all, but what about the little guys? NIN and Radiohead have already made their names. They can afford to self-produce and –release their records at this point. Smaller acts might have a harder time getting themselves out there if they don’t have a record label behind them. But folks like AFP and Matthew Ebel are proving that it’s at least possible to start reaching an audience using the internet and some smarts. And I think fans appreciate that. I know I do. I love learning about new music, and I really appreciate when the artists make it possible for me to check them out before I go out and buy stuff. I’m more than happy to go out and buy an album or a show ticket if I find a band I like--this is especially true if I can buy that album or ticket directly from the artist, so I know the money is going to them and not some corporation.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">At the end of Matt’s encore, AFP (who had been chatting in the wee chat room) said she wanted to sing him a song as a thank you. So she tweeted her own <a href="http://partyontheinternet.com/">ustream channel</a> and everyone trooped over there to see her. She was just chilling in her house with a beer, in her kimono, about to be late for a 9pm dinner.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Upon request, she played “Ampersand”. The piano was out of tune, and she was basically in her pajamas. It was awesome. She kept asking if the broadcast was working.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">At the end of the song, because it was after nine, her phone rang. So she picked it up and apologized for being late, explaining that she’d done an accidental webcast and arranging to meet her friends posthaste for their meal.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After that, the phone rang again. It was her boyfriend. Yanno, Neil Gaiman? Which was super cute. (I might’ve squeed a little.) Her whole demeanor changed when she picked up the phone—he was telling her that, yes, it worked and she did indeed manage to webcast the song. It was really interesting to eavesdrop on her end of those two conversations. Not that either was an intimate conversation—she was just chatting with a friend and telling her man that she loved him. If I were to be really cynical about it, I would say that it was perfectly set up to make her seem more human and down to earth. But really, I don’t think it was staged, and it did do very well to demonstrate that, really, she’s just a chick doing what she loves and trying to make a living at that. And I can appreciate it.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Did anyone else happen to catch either webcast? Have any thoughts on the sort of things that smaller acts and independent artists are doing these days to make a living doing what they love?</p>Lizziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12639850172943893454noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-58245697625879625602009-10-07T17:45:00.011-04:002009-10-07T18:18:30.247-04:00Super Duper<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVTLmE1eqXlHqp8LsAqDrYYTBwZ873lAal9_-kkTHESuvDeBlEcp8wyADyOi07VFDihKEq9MDjMdGoYD6KOppwkQ3i8bOdka8_VNLm_hxrH0O5v1ACKOAcR4lSRnE8jzMRUQjAroeDjw/s1600-h/MOFalbum.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389978580789128258" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 269px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVTLmE1eqXlHqp8LsAqDrYYTBwZ873lAal9_-kkTHESuvDeBlEcp8wyADyOi07VFDihKEq9MDjMdGoYD6KOppwkQ3i8bOdka8_VNLm_hxrH0O5v1ACKOAcR4lSRnE8jzMRUQjAroeDjw/s320/MOFalbum.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>Monsters of Folk</strong>, <em>Monsters of Folk</em> (Shangri-La Music/Rough Trade) <div></div><br /><div>Few things instill a greater mix of anticipation and trepidation in music fans than a supergroup. We hype them to a god-like status long before they’ve written a note together and then find ourselves shocked when the gods we’ve lauded are really men struggling to merge their inflated artistic egos. We are the arbiters of our own misfortune, and the supergroup is the catalyst for our collective disillusionment. </div><br /><div>Thus, a healthier way to view <em>Monsters of Folk</em>, from the act that combines the prowess of indie rock icons Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis(of Bright Eyes), Jim James (of My Morning Jacket) and M. Ward, is not as a supergroup’s album but rather as a mixtape. </div><br /><div>The mix starts off with two of the best songs to come out of the indie scene so far this year. The heartfelt “Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.)” finds the singers each getting their chance to address the creator of the universe. Each, James, Ward, and Oberst respectively, beautifully showcases his vocal and lyrical styles in the context of a swirling, melodic strain that connects to the deepest emotional center of the listener. The effect is absolutely thrilling.</div><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xwNXEyz1P7w&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xwNXEyz1P7w&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><div>Next, the mood shifts to upbeat roots-rock, ala The Traveling Wilburys, with “Say Please,” wherein the singers again harmonize and trade back and forth lead vocal duties, not to mention some thrilling guitar work. The resulting song is endlessly catchy, and the energy of the group is infectious. </div><br /><div>These two collaborative tracks are a perfect example of hooking the listener early, of jumping out the gate with a start so great that it makes you want to keep listening all day long. </div><div><br /></div><div>From here, the concept of a mixtape becomes more applicable while the quality of the songs becomes unfortunately more debatable. While the first two tracks give every member of the band ample opportunity to be heard, the rest focus mostly on one person at a time, with the others providing simple backup. In these songs, personal preference will be the key to the listener’s enjoyment. Each artist clearly brought several songs apiece to the table for this project, and how you feel about the music will probably be based on how you feel about each songwriter's other work. </div><div></div><div><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WnL96oSKVSc&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WnL96oSKVSc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div>Jim James, for example, is very prominent on “The Right Place” and “Losin Yo Head,” each of which bear the mark of My Morning Jacket’s early albums with their down-home alt-country vibe. He is also alone for most of “Magic Marker,” a soft campfire jam.<br /></div><br /><div>For Oberst fans, <em>Monsters of Folk</em> contains gems akin to his recent solo work. “Temazcal” is poetic and meditative, while “Ahead of the Curve” is large and rocking. His lyrics continue to impress. “Pain was hunting me down, but I gave him the slip/I left the city through a tunnel and I headed for the sticks/With oregano oil and a morphine drip/Pain was hunting me down, but I gave him the slip” he sings on “Man Named Truth,” painting the perfect image of the troubled vagabond he has evoked for years. </div><br /><div>It’s the songs by M. Ward that may give listeners the most trouble. Ward’s voice is like a humid summer’s day; it’s thick and warm and beautiful, but it can easily put you to sleep. It doesn’t help that most of the tracks he’s written for this group creep through the speakers at a snail’s pace and a mouse’s breadth. “Slow Down Jo” is haunting and sweet, but so slow that an impatient listener will feel as though they’re swimming through molasses.</div><div><br />Still, a lot of fun can be had by picking out the intermittent backup vocals and moments of creative juxtaposition, when one member or another inserts himself into a song at the most unexpected of moments. James’ signature falsetto graces several songs so softly you might not notice until the tenth listen that he’s been there all along, hovering above the rest of the music.</div><br /><div>And it’s in these moments that Monsters of Folk are at their absolute collaborative best, three of the most distinctive voices in independent music coming together for the purpose of making brilliant sounds rather than to inflate their heads. Integrity and fun over marketing and egotism? If only we could be so lucky with every would-be supergroup.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>-Christian H.</div><div></div><div>(This post previously appeared in the <a href="http://www.msureporter.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=bf69d4dc-7939-4e85-a93d-28bc8ee10401">Minnesota State University Reporter</a>)</div>ChristianHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01584398724198755197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-33570323468086273812009-10-05T08:00:00.003-04:002009-10-05T08:00:06.818-04:00Music News: From treadmills to Purple Rain<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:WPzcwV-e7sA0YM:http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/08/24/okgo25806_wideweb__470x311,0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 129px; height: 85px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:WPzcwV-e7sA0YM:http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/08/24/okgo25806_wideweb__470x311,0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><b>O</b><b>K </b><b>Go</b> shot to fame after their clever treadmill video for "<span class="yshortcuts">Here It Goes Again</span>" in 2006, but had been around for much longer prior to that. With about seven <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">EPs</span> under their belt and two full-length albums they are set to release their third album titled <i>Of the Blue Colour of the Sky</i>. The band is departing from their alt-rock sound and using influences from Prince's <i><span class="yshortcuts">Purple Rain</span></i> for the new album. Their new single "Shooting the Moon" has also been announced as a track on the <i>New Moon</i> soundtrack. Other artists included on the soundtrack include <span class="yshortcuts">Thom Yorke</span>, <span class="yshortcuts">Grizzly Bear</span> and <span class="yshortcuts">Death Cab For Cutie</span>. As much as this movie franchise stinks, you have to admit they've got some pretty good musical tastes.
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<br />I don’t think anyone is going to be surprised to hear that the <b>Lady Gaga/Kanye West</b> ironically titled “Fame Kills” tour has been cancelled already.<span style=""> </span>There’s no official word on why it was cancelled but low ticket sales and backlash against West’s diva behavior are speculated reasons.<span style=""> </span>Everyone has their own opinions about these two trainwrecks but I can admit that I really like both of them, musically speaking.<span style=""> </span>That can’t go without saying that I think they’re both run-of-the-mill assholes.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:T541c6O8LKn0-M:http://ohmpark.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/thommy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 120px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:T541c6O8LKn0-M:http://ohmpark.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/thommy.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Add this to the 847598347-billion projects <b>Thom Yorke</b> has going on right now.<span style=""> </span>Yorke debuted a new group featuring <b>Red Hot Chili Peppers’</b> bassist Flea, <b>Radiohead</b> producer <span class="yshortcuts">Nigel Godrich</span>, <b>Beck</b> drummer Joey Waronker and percussionist Mauro Refosco.<span style=""> </span>They performed two shows on October 4<sup>th</sup> and 5<sup>th</sup> at Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theater.<span style=""> </span>They performed music from Yorke’s solo album <i>The Eraser</i>, which Yorke has been performing strictly solo.<span style=""> </span>With the addition of the band, he hopes to bring it more to life.
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<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">-Felicia</span>
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<br />On to the <b>Monday Playlist</b>...
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<br /><b>Sean</b>: I mentioned <b>House of Heroes</b> briefly in my middle-eights piece, but I feel that their awesomeness bears repeating. I've been listening to <i>The End Is Not the End</i> consistently since last winter, and I still never seem to get sick of it. It's nearly flawless, and also a good example of how spirituality can play a role in music without taking over. This is the album's killer opener, "If."
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<br /><b>Chris</b>: "You Were Right About Me" by <b>Talk Less, Say More</b> is proof that sometimes downloading a band's music based on their name alone is not a bad thing. A digital copy of the London group's album <i>It's About Time</i> is available for free via Records on Ribs, and it's well worth the mere 2-3 minute wait it takes for it to arrive on your desktop, if only for the aforementioned opening track. It's warm yet murky electronic pop music that dollops on a healthy dose of sadness and a glimpse of hope. As it ebbs and flows in epic fashion, it's hard to not wish the rest of the album was as great as its kickoff track, but nevertheless, just by offering up their music for free and having one outstanding cut on their album, I look forward to keeping tabs on TLSM in the future.
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<br />Enjoy. <i>-Sean</i>Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270331661418915316noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-35918022892172644042009-10-01T08:00:00.004-04:002009-10-01T08:00:07.813-04:00She'll Kiss You Like a King and You'll Love It.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFHIyRl4buic0dInjB6JX0FarcpsF2IqQcPHv1lLtsNfUpNWvNXbpMjVkO9ik2g6ck-YvBdvRSAN0d5aztsl-OY4ZWmToZ3q2rrgGxFFgzddjqLmNwVgexodcnr40v1YXQyov157nT_354/s1600-h/bomb_in_a_birdcage_by_a_fine_frenzy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFHIyRl4buic0dInjB6JX0FarcpsF2IqQcPHv1lLtsNfUpNWvNXbpMjVkO9ik2g6ck-YvBdvRSAN0d5aztsl-OY4ZWmToZ3q2rrgGxFFgzddjqLmNwVgexodcnr40v1YXQyov157nT_354/s200/bomb_in_a_birdcage_by_a_fine_frenzy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386927526594462114" /></a><br /><b>A Fine Frenzy</b>: <i>Bomb In a Birdcage</i><br />[Virgin Records]<br /><br /><object width="250" height="40"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></param> <param name="wmode" value="window"></param> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15544766&style=wood&p=0"></param> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="250" height="40" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15544766&style=wood&p=0" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="window"></embed></object><br /><br />That song says pretty much everything I'd need to say about A Fine Frenzy's (singer/songwriter/pianist Alison Sudol) second release, <i>Bomb In a Birdcage</i>. It's whimsical and terribly sweet, extraordinarily catchy and perfectly executed. I don't generally like to describe music as "cute," but holy <i>crap</i> is that song adorable. I'd like to pick it up and squeeze it lovingly; quite simply, it makes me smile (and press repeat).<br /><br />Being that it's kinda what we do around here, though, I'll expand a bit. <i>Bomb In a Birdcage</i> is an engaging record from a talented performer and songwriter, equal parts elegant and playful, delicate and confident. Sudol deftly navigates through upbeat, bouncy tunes and more subdued singer/songwriter fare, producing an album that often calms but never bores; her ability to put just the right notes at the forefront of relatively sparse music, coupled with excellent production, prevents even the quietest songs from losing the listener's attention.<br /><br />Having achieved a fair degree of success with her debut record, A Fine Frenzy expands her musical palette a bit with <i>Bomb In a Birdcage</i>, blending some slightly more daring pop numbers in with her flowing style and showing more power in her vocals. "What I Wouldn't Do," the single "Blow Away" and especially "Electric Twist" really get the first third of the album moving before Sudol settles into a more level feel for a few songs. "Electric Twist" is a true highlight here; beginning with just a bass, a couple low guitar strings and a voice, it slowly adds layers of keyboards and effects, building steam as the riffs meld and the vocals project. Sudol punctuates a number of lines with quick, high-pitched squeaks that might seem obnoxious in description but are totally endearing aurally--sweet and playful and happy. It's these little touches in delivery--like the breath at the 2:04 mark--that make A Fine Frenzy irresistible.<br /><br /><object width="250" height="40"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></param> <param name="wmode" value="window"></param> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15573883&style=wood&p=0"></param> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="250" height="40" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15573883&style=wood&p=0" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="window"></embed></object><br /><br />The middle section of <i>Bomb In a Birdcage</i> rolls along a bit more calmly, relying on Sudol's beautifully full piano to carry the elegant melodies, interspersed with bursts of horns and keyboards to keep things interesting. Still, these four or five songs drift along like a lazy river, comfortable and lovely and inviting. "Stood Up" is a bit of a deviation from the rest of the record, albeit an alluring one; its vocals are heavy on reverb and echo, and the song includes a piece where the vocals are backed only by a thumping drumbeat, giving it almost an anthemic feel. This track also includes some of the most powerful vocals on the record, and is rather stirring for an artist like A Fine Frenzy. The album closes out with the pretty "The Beacon;" that is, unless you get the iTunes version--and I recommend that you do--which closes more appropriately with "Coming Around." While it is rather pretty, "The Beacon" ends a bit anticlimactically; "Coming Around" is a more satisfying final track, upbeat and full of lush horns and background vocals.<br /><br />Overall, <i>Bomb In a Birdcage</i> is an excellent entry into the ever-expanding female singer/songwriter genre. It's a cohesive record despite being quite a bit more dynamic than A Fine Frenzy's debut, and the lyrical content is intelligent, fanciful and literary without being too artsy or inaccessible. It may not draw in those who aren't predisposed to her kind of music, but for those with an ear for the mellow and melodic, Alison Sudol is definitely someone you should meet.Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08593957419942795980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-9120319133104870622009-09-29T09:00:00.000-04:002009-09-29T09:00:07.358-04:00Play Dumb Play Dead Play Straight: The Dead WeatherThis album is like a carefully constructed sloppy outfit; a carerected slopfit, if you will. You know exactly what I'm talking about: the kind of outfit that a [insert emo/hipster/etc. stereotype] takes hours to build, but all in an effort to make it seem, well, effortless. It is a just-rolled-out-of-bed, recording-our-band-practice kind of sound.<br /><br />Not to say that this album is sloppy: it isn't. And not to say that it seems effortless: it doesn't. In fact, it is delicately imbued with an intoxicating kinetic energy. The idea that I'm trying to get at is that this album is meticulous anti-synchronicity. The syncopations are not consistent, but they are sure as hell intentional. Every beat, every dirty chord, is placed exactly where it is meant to go. It is the epitome of "brand new worn out" jeans: broken in so you don't have to.<br /><br />If this all seems to be a terribly confusing description, then good. Because I'm doing it on purpose. You have now experienced the written equivalent of my listening to The Dead Weather's freshman effort. Maybe it's my mindset, maybe my lack of focus--I honestly don't know--but it took me a good FIVE listens to actually "hear" this album. For the record, this is incredibly untypical for me; usually I can listen to something once and tell you exactly what I like and don't like about it; I'm that kind of opinionated ass. But this...this was different.<br /><br />And I want to say right here that I dig it. <i>Really</i> dig it. This album is just downright fucking <i>sexy</i>. If this album was a one-night stand, it would be with that hot fucker from a smoky dive bar that you bang in secret in your tiny college apartment. Sure, it might be good ol' missionary style sex, but it is a deep, intense penetration that you talk about for weeks. And maybe booty call a few times, just for the hell of it. Maybe more than a few times. This could go on regular booty call rotation.<br /><br />I have been hearing a lot of backlash against Jack White these days, and I can relate to where that is coming from. Yeah, he is in, like, FIFTY different bands. Yeah, he has that whole "I'm a rocker, I'm too cool for skoo" vibe. Yeah, he has the scuzzy black hair, motorcycle jacket, and big black boots. But in spite of any possible comparisons to rocker cliches that you could impose, you cannot deny that the man can CHURN OUT some fucking listenable music. He has a gift: a gift of rock. If Jack White was the little boy Jack Black in The Pick of Destiny, it would have been Led Zeppelin talking to him from a poster on the back of his bedroom door.<br /><br />I'm going to shy away from a track by track description, other than to leave you with this video. This <i>FUCKING AWESOME</i> video. They call it a short film rather than a video, and I can see why.<br /><br />The Dead Weather, <i>Treat Me Like Your Mother</i><br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/M7QSkI6My1g&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/M7QSkI6My1g&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />AND the behind the scenes. Apparently, it is algebraic.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GTbV7p4EAoc&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_profilepage&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GTbV7p4EAoc&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_profilepage&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />And for you film geeks: This is YES.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7zdJH19DsJw&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_profilepage&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7zdJH19DsJw&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_profilepage&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />They really <i>are</i> too cool.Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05343535408071945002noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-77127047272257103882009-09-28T08:00:00.010-04:002009-09-28T08:00:04.329-04:00Music News: Again<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Yrj0QDVEztNsbM:http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/kellymw007/MUSIC/rhymesayers.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 115px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Yrj0QDVEztNsbM:http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/kellymw007/MUSIC/rhymesayers.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>In Minneapolis-based music label Rhymesayers news, <b>P.O.S.</b> just finished up three tour dates on the West Coast with punk band <b>Bad Brains</b>. He is continuing his tour in Europe right now, and will be back in the U.S. in late October with <b>Eyedea and Abilities</b>. <b>Brother Ali</b> also just kicked off a fall 49-show tour to promote his third album <i>Us</i>. The album has a load of guest appearances that include <b>New Standards'</b> musician Steve Roehm, <b>Mint Conditio</b><b>n's</b> Stokley Williams and <b>Public En</b><b>emy's</b> Chuck D.<br /><br />Brother Ali: “Us”<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lsPaYZ26Cw0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lsPaYZ26Cw0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://thm-a03.yimg.com/image/820fb4f040c0299a"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 125px; height: 125px;" src="http://thm-a03.yimg.com/image/820fb4f040c0299a" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />My mind has always said no to <b>Scott Weiland</b>, but my lady parts say yes. Weiland had a seizure on a flight from Los Angeles to Miami two weeks ago. The flight had to make an emergency landing in Dallas and Weiland was briefly hospitalized. After a quick recovery, he made it to Miami where he had a scheduled solo performance at the club Mansion. After his performance he did confirm a fall <b>Stone Temple Pilots</b> tour which starts on October 2nd in Mobile, AL. I’m guessing you shouldn’t expect much from it since the reviews for their last recent tour were shit.<br /><br />Billy Cor<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:RQqENC6HqY1HNM:http://static.thehollywoodgossip.com/images/gallery/billy-corgan-photo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 100px; height: 124px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:RQqENC6HqY1HNM:http://static.thehollywoodgossip.com/images/gallery/billy-corgan-photo.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>gan announced <b>Smashing Pumpkins</b> will be releasing their new album called <i>Tearga</i><i>rden by Kaleidyscope</i> this fall. Don't look for a regular old album in stores or iTunes though. Corgan's plans for the album include releasing one song digitally starting on October 31st. He will then follow consistently with single releases until all, get this, 44 freaking singles are released. Oh, and all the digital downloads will be free. He then is going to release eleven limited edition EPs that will contain four songs each. And finally, once all this shit has gone down, he will release one complete box set of all 44 songs. Corgan says that the final box set will not be an exact reproduction of the EPs. Isn't this the same bitch that went to Capitol Hill earlier this year to complain about radio royalties? At least he got with the program and realized his ass probably wouldn't get paid anyway for these songs (since no one in their right mind would buy them with actual money), and just decided to release them for free.<br /><br />Everyone is being resurrected these days, and that includes the cult-followed band <b>Dev</b><b>o</b><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://thm-a01.yimg.com/image/be5131a9b876de6e"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 106px;" src="http://thm-a01.yimg.com/image/be5131a9b876de6e" alt="" border="0" /></a>. They recently signed a deal with Warner Brothers Records and are prepping for a 2010 new album and tour. In the meantime, Warner Brothers will re-release the albums <i>Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo</i> and <i>Freedom of Choice</i> in limited edition and deluxe formats in November. Also in the meantime, Devo is going on tour this fall to promote the re-releases. They will be stopping in seven-cities for two nights each performing both albums in full, one per night.<br /><br />And now, to keep you abreast of what we're listening to, here's your <b>Monday</b> (mini-)<b>Playlist</b>.<br /><br /><b>Felicia:</b> I’m currently listening to <b>Hot Chip’s</b> “Over and Over” from their 2006 album, <i>The Warning</i>. I had been wondering what they’ve been up to, since their 2008 album <i>Made in the Dark</i> was one of my favorites from last year. According to their <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Chttp://www.hotchip.co.uk/site/index.php?page=articles&type=20%E2%80%9D">official website</a>, it seems the band members have been working on other collaborations and remix albums lately. They are also currently recording a new Hot Chip album, which will be released in 2010.<br /><br /><b>Sean</b>: I'm following up last week's Buchanan song with a sample from Jay Buchanan's current band, <b>Rival Sons</b>. It's not quite the same vibe as Buchanan, that's for sure. It's straight-up rock; dirty, gritty, and sexy as hell. I'm digging it. From their debut record <i>Before the Fire</i>, this is "Tell Me Something."<br /><br /><object width="250" height="252"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/widget.swf"></param> <param name="wmode" value="window"></param> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15506217&style=metal&bbg=5e5757&bfg=D6D6D6&bt=000847&bth=000000&pbg=0c0847&pbgh=D6D6D6&pfg=FFFFFF&pfgh=000847&si=7A7A7A&lbg=000847&lbgh=5e5e57&lfg=FFFFFF&lfgh=000847&sb=000847&sbh=D6D6D6&p=0"></param> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/widget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="250" height="252" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15506217&style=metal&bbg=5e5757&bfg=D6D6D6&bt=000847&bth=000000&pbg=0c0847&pbgh=D6D6D6&pfg=FFFFFF&pfgh=000847&si=7A7A7A&lbg=000847&lbgh=5e5e57&lfg=FFFFFF&lfgh=000847&sb=000847&sbh=D6D6D6&p=0" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="window"></embed></object>Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270331661418915316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-70482267752612249562009-09-25T09:45:00.006-04:002009-09-25T11:15:28.548-04:00Sunny Day Real Estate: Grown Up Emo Kids and Car Seats<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8MtoXH-39ZxcDLuM22ol6nmQugZH7gKqDLld2ajrZwyUSRvlnJw2inYxJ1Z1osICf664lH1ZRb6cNVO-WM5R4tf88pUHeinA-BPvPZXc8iGJwKq5WnXl7jmjrWL6KfDtohtNokMWgsk/s1600-h/sdre.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 174px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385407454696924658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8MtoXH-39ZxcDLuM22ol6nmQugZH7gKqDLld2ajrZwyUSRvlnJw2inYxJ1Z1osICf664lH1ZRb6cNVO-WM5R4tf88pUHeinA-BPvPZXc8iGJwKq5WnXl7jmjrWL6KfDtohtNokMWgsk/s320/sdre.jpg" /></a> "One day, we're going to be 40. And it's going to happen like <em>that</em>," my fiancee said with a snap of her fingers as we surveyed our surroundings this past Wednesday evening at First Avenue here in Minneapolis. She brought it up because we were on the younger side of emo kid nostalgiafest 2009, aka the Sunny Day Real Estate reunion show, and it was quite obvious by a quick glance around the room. We discovered the venerable emotive rock institution known to fanboys and girls as simply SDRE toward the end of their first go-around together. It was 2000 and the band's fourth (and what would have been thought to be final) album, <em>The Rising Tide</em>, was meant with derision by many, but whole-heartedly embraced by us high schoolers that were obsessed with indie guitar music that was catchy but filled with angsty pain.<br /><br /><object width="250" height="40"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></param> <param name="wmode" value="window"></param> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15454072&style=metal&p=0"></param> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="250" height="40" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15454072&style=metal&p=0" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="window"></embed></object><br /><br />But it was obvious that as opening act The Jealous Sound played through this very kind of music capably and honorably, we (for the first time in a long time) were the youngins ogling the old people that didn't seem into the music, but were oddly silent and contemplative. It was fitting, though, that we were in the minority, because the lineup consisted of the band's original four members, including Nate Mendel and Williams Goldsmith, who originally left SDRE in 1995 to pursue careers as bassist and drummer in some band called the Foo Fighters. So Mendel and co. stuck to largely that foursome's discography when they took to the stage, which are arguably the ones that SDRE will be remembered for anyway. It started off big, with mostly tracks for <em>Diary</em>, the band's debut from 1994. One in particular that managed to get me from analyzing the crowd to dive into the beauty of the music was their live rendition of "Song About an Angel". With gut-wrenching dynamics that haven't been in anything Jeremy Enigk's written (as a solo artist or in his other band, The Fire Theft) since his breakthrough songwriting year, it was certainly an early apex of the night.<br /><br /><object width="250" height="40"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></param> <param name="wmode" value="window"></param> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15454172&style=metal&p=0"></param> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="250" height="40" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15454172&style=metal&p=0" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="window"></embed></object><br /><br />As the band started intertwining more songs from 1995's <em>LP2</em>, including "Grendel" and "Iscarabaid", nothing caught hold of me as intensely as anything they played from <em>Diary</em>, but I knew I had never given most of these songs from their sophomore outing the fair shake they deserve, which is one of the magical things about surprise reunion shows, whether just a money-grubbing last ditch effort in a musical recession or not. When SDRE broke up shortly after the release of <em>The Rising Tide</em>, just after I had started obsessing over them, I immediately accepted the fact that I would never see them in concert. It's a completely different feeling listening to a record of a band you love when you know it's a possibility you'll see them someday, or if you know they're coming to town, or if you know they will never show up in your hometown. So hearing these songs in a light I didn't think would ever be possible truly was special. It makes me want to forgive the fact that the song "8" from that record was on the <em>Batman Forever</em> soundtrack, go back, and listen to it all in a refreshingly new and exciting context.<br /><br /><object width="250" height="40"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></param> <param name="wmode" value="window"></param> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15454129&style=metal&p=0"></param> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="250" height="40" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15454129&style=metal&p=0" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="window"></embed></object><br /><br />And despite their connections to commerical success such as this that broke out for the SDRE guys throughout the years both before and after the band's demise (lead singer Enigk also experienced marginal glory as film composer for the deservedly forgotten film <em>The United States of Leland</em>), I really didn't see this reunion as a primarily financially-fueled decision. And I say that as someone who finds a lot of these reunions nowadays completely financially-fueled. And I totally thought the same of SDRE up until the night of the show because there seemed no other reason to do it other than to jump on the bandwagon and see where their mark in emo history lay. Now the show was not sold out, but it was pretty packed. Their comments to the crowd were not necessarily enthusiastic, but they didn't sound forced either. And ultimately, at some point around the middle of them venturing into territory from their 3rd album <em>How it Feels to Be Something On</em> (and Pitchfork's favorite of that year, mind you) with "Guitar and Video Games", I realized they were not doing this for a quick buck. I had completely decided that between their new song that Jeremy (an otherwise sadsack sullen guy) murmured afterward he looks "forward to recording that one" and the pure ardor that propelled Mendel and Goldsmith through "Guitar and Video Games", that this was for real. These guys loved playing music together again. <br /><br />So while not every song filled my veins with the kind of vitriolic fervor I felt as a pained teenager in a suburban wasteland (wee-ow, that sounds lame, who was I?) and as I came to the treacherous realization that soon I too would be 40 and might not want to "get into it" at a show, that at least the music remains. And thankfully, due to the spirit and genuine love between four guys who had a good run back in the day, both they and I and the hundreds of others that filled First Avenue wouldn't have to settle for just casually listening to an old record to get our nostalgic rocks off. We could get together again and while we can't recreate the past, we sure can come close. And as the mild giddy high weared off as I exited the parking ramp Wednesday night and I witnessed a 40-ish guy with black-rimmed glasses pulled out of his spot and readjust a car seat in the back of his Honda, I thought to myself, 40's not going to be too bad at all. If I can get away on a weeknight when I have a kid of my own to go and relive the glory of emo music when I'm 40, it's not going to be too bad at all.chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09766611910601990375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-59572943235943841202009-09-24T11:20:00.009-04:002009-09-24T11:39:59.403-04:00Stop It.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27T0zoRAnQo2rYfNb6SuyDMqRuIsXXLjTH6nek5M1_-FnvYelq2XV16v-up6uO-dYCWBCxq1c5Z2lyjkrBA64x9avxqQopbFiep0ahM5K2XlCVKJnZJiBkFRsRv_LgbUfGS9GvDNh2dw/s1600-h/muse-the-resistance.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385055551200194162" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 231px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 243px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27T0zoRAnQo2rYfNb6SuyDMqRuIsXXLjTH6nek5M1_-FnvYelq2XV16v-up6uO-dYCWBCxq1c5Z2lyjkrBA64x9avxqQopbFiep0ahM5K2XlCVKJnZJiBkFRsRv_LgbUfGS9GvDNh2dw/s320/muse-the-resistance.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>Muse, <em>The Resistance </em></strong>[2009]<br /><strong><em></em></strong>[Warner Bros./Helium 3]<br /><br />A true resistance movement, in the classical sense, does more than just overturn the status quo. A truly influential resistance is one that stands for something greater, that meets traditional wisdom with fierce internal power and clashes with the establishment in such a meaningful way that, in the event of their failure, future generations can still look to their example for strength. If a resistance is truly important, it will ring throughout history and impact even those who oppose it simply through the strength of its ideals.<br /><br />Whatever resistance Muse is attempting to mount with their new album will probably be forgotten before the last song is finished playing.<br /><br />Muse has always been a fairly well-respected band for their musical ability and for singer Matthew Bellamy’s stirring, if divisive, voice. They’ve been significantly less respected for essentially being a rip-off of early Radiohead and Queen. All the musical talent in the world can’t make up for derivative songwriting. Their “Guitar Hero”-powered hit single, “Knights of Cydonia” (from their previous album “Black Holes and Revelations”) was basically a cowboy’s version of “Bohemian Rhapsody.”<br /><br />Unfortunately for the band (and for the listener), this trend of style-biting has continued with surprising vigor. The cheese-laden, piano-ballad-to-hard-rock jam “United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)” should have Brian May considering litigation. The guitar solo in the equally grandiose “Guiding Light” even has May’s classic guitar sound, and bears such a close resemblance to his work it made me check the liner notes to see if it had been sampled from “A Night At The Opera.”<br /><br />Everything about “The Resistance” is big, big, big, with no thought to what it’s really all for. Clearly, Bellamy is trying to make a point or, more accurately, a million points at once, but they’re so vapidly basic, one would have to wonder if he’s even seen a newspaper in the last two years or if he simply watched John Carpenter’s satirical “They Live” and decided that would be enough information to write his lyrics around.<br /><br />The lyrics are, if you’ll forgive me, beyond stupid. The most interesting line on the whole album comes on “Unnatural Selection” (a title so clever it can only be considered with absolute reverence and awe): “Counterbalance is commotion/We’re not droplets in the ocean.” Pretty good. If only there was one more phrase on the entire album that was evocative in any way.<br /><br />Just try to wrap your brain around the sheer poetry of their lead-off single “Uprising”: “Rise up and take the power back/It’s time the fat cats had a heart attack/Their time’s coming to an end/It’s time to rise up and watch our flag ascend.” You’d be forgiven for having to read it more than once. It’s super confusing. It’s, like, totally abstract and deep and junk.<br /><br />He is right about one thing: fat cats are probably more likely to have a heart attack. Check your feline’s cholesterol before it’s too late.<br /><br />On every song, Bellamy howls about wanting truth and fighting back against the lies that “they” are feeding us. He belts ad nauseam about power and right and wrong and victory. But, aside from being alarmist nonsense, his blathering results in absolutely nothing. There are no solutions offered other than “rising up,” whatever it is he thinks that means. Let’s say he gets what he wants. Let’s say that everybody bands together and decides to revolt against whoever or whatever. Great. Then what? Is that going to be explained on the next album?<br /><br />Basically, it’s all problems, no solutions.<br /><br />Even if you can ignore the nonsense lyrics, the music is hardly inspired or original. After listening through the album several times, I still can’t tell which song is which unless I’m looking at the track listing. And it’s not like Muse isn’t trying. If anything, they’re trying too hard. The production value of each song is so cavernously huge there is no gravity; if music traveled in the vacuum of space, it would sound like “The Resistance,” and everything would be too huge to be discernable.<br /><br />What makes “The Resistance” so unpalatable is not simply its awful wordplay and bloated song structures, but the pretentiousness that has gone into its every detail. Muse clearly believes they’ve made something Earth-shattering, and every gluttonous minute of music feels more like three men paying homage to their own greatness rather than a band simply making a good sound.<br /><br />The second half of “I Belong to You” is an excerpt from the opera “Samson and Delilah.” “Exogenesis,” the album’s three-part finale, is treated, and labeled, as an epic “symphony.” Rock bands that aspire to something more can be great. But rock bands that aspire to more and fail simply come off looking foolish, especially when they try to pass themselves off as leaders of some great movement.<br /><br />And in the end, that’s what it’s all about. Muse is trying to lead some form of revolution, to affect some sort of musical or political transformation. But to anyone who’s actually paying attention it sounds like what Muse is resisting most strongly isn’t the voice of power, but rather the voice of reason.<br /><br /><em>-Christian H.</em><br /><em>This review appeared (in a heavily edited form) in the <a href="http://media.www.msureporter.com/media/storage/paper937/news/2009/09/22/Music/Resisting.Muses.Forgettable.Movement-3779033.shtml?reffeature=popuarstoriestab">Minnesota State University Reporter</a>.</em>ChristianHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01584398724198755197noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-85421161459576848762009-09-23T08:00:00.006-04:002009-09-23T08:00:00.926-04:00Atyipcal<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9dkd2cGvRigbdoamC0sjQ0WBwNUjfrDgmcj5riGyL8bxpZeQ09ZP_jNzR4i63J2eNvZs36OV9UH2jbzhFyH_HS2GejEYO6cpFqxyQAP7MQHg3HdlhKaiBPYQjIemaRTodAHw7zhBOak23/s1600-h/mute-math-armistice-album-cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9dkd2cGvRigbdoamC0sjQ0WBwNUjfrDgmcj5riGyL8bxpZeQ09ZP_jNzR4i63J2eNvZs36OV9UH2jbzhFyH_HS2GejEYO6cpFqxyQAP7MQHg3HdlhKaiBPYQjIemaRTodAHw7zhBOak23/s200/mute-math-armistice-album-cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382075480299678034" border="0" /></a><br /><b>Mute Math</b>: <i>Armistice</i><br />[Teleprompt/Warner Bros.]<br /><br />The first thing you need to know about Mute Math is that lead singer Paul Meany plays the keytar in concert. Don't even try to tell me that's not awesome.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTa4bhdCtlRJS9nca_R-1yNKmqVy0daPPzWNq2gqHyKvckuIQBIGAZDk-sGCokdP0a9xFK8lxU7WckNVaVh0Z0fBj4B6clrWtekge-xMmP8JA9iy8ZwDSSVlFuUG1_wcTgE_E1H9wGnkUm/s1600-h/paul+meany.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTa4bhdCtlRJS9nca_R-1yNKmqVy0daPPzWNq2gqHyKvckuIQBIGAZDk-sGCokdP0a9xFK8lxU7WckNVaVh0Z0fBj4B6clrWtekge-xMmP8JA9iy8ZwDSSVlFuUG1_wcTgE_E1H9wGnkUm/s200/paul+meany.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382169451963600290" border="0" /></a><br /><i>Armistice</i>, the second album from this New Orleans rock band, lives in a very nice middle-ground. Mute Math's overall sound--a blend of alternative rock and electronic, almost psychedelic music--and <i>Armistice</i> in particular sit comfortably between Bloc Party and U2; more melodic and pop-sensible than the former, and utilizing the kind of lead riffs and echo-chamber sound of the latter in ways that are infinitely more interesting (and without the stupid sunglasses, silly monikers and general obnoxiousness).<br /><br />From the opening track, "The Nerve," we can tell that there's something just a little different about this Mute Math record. The foundation is the same: funky beats, swirling keyboards, strong bass lines and effects-laden guitars. But "The Nerve" seems injected with a bit of soul that never made itself known on <i>Mute Math</i>. The whole of <i>Armistice</i> feels a bit more "loose" than the band's debut; I put that particular word in quotes because I don't want to give the impression that Mute Math is any less technically proficient in their performance here--they aren't. There is, however, just a slight change in the overall tone of the music. <i>Mute Math</i> was--and is--a fantastic record in every aspect, but even the most uplifting songs on it felt deadly serious; not necessarily cold or lacking emotion, but very tightly focused. <i>Armistice</i>, on the other hand, feels a touch more playful; relaxed, perhaps. The difference is subtle, but it's there. To better illustrate my point, I'd point specifically to Paul Meany's vocals. He is, of course, still an excellent singer, powerful through his entire range and tonally right-on. He sounds more natural, though, this time around; there's a lot less reverb put on the vocals, a lot more harmony, and--apologies for the repeated use of this word--a little more <i>soul</i>. His transitions are just slightly more drawn-out but still smooth, giving the songs a warmth that was often missing from their debut.<br /><br />To be honest, I'm kind of nitpicking here in pointing out these subtle comparisons. The important thing is that <i>Armistice</i> is really a good listen. As I said before, the Mute Math hallmarks are still here: keyboards and computer effects swirl and splash throughout the album without totally dominating the soundscape. The songs are still full of funky rhythms and off-beats that manage to keep toes tapping. Several of the reviews I've read of <i>Armistice</i> lament the absence of U2-ish songs like "Collapse" and "Typical," the arena-rock standouts of <i>Mute Math</i>, pointing to the more ambient sound and complex melodies of this record as a departure from the band's originality and pop sense. That complaint, however, ignores the fact that--the aforementioned two songs aside--the remainder of <i>Mute Math</i> was hardly pop music. I'd counter that <i>Armistice</i> leans ever-so-slightly more in the direction of pop (perhaps alternative, more aptly) by retaining the experimental ambiance of the band's debut while cutting down on the "open spaces," as one might say; those periods on <i>Mute Math</i> where the vocals dropped out and for a minute or two we were left with just the rhythm section. That isn't to say that there aren't impressive instrumentals here; the gorgeous string interlude of "Clipping" is a highlight. The quick piano that tiptoes through this tune, the pulsating keyboards and the high harmony makes this one of my favorite songs on the record.<br /><br /><object height="40" width="250"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="window"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15235483&style=wood&p=0"> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15235483&style=wood&p=0" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="40" width="250"></embed><a class="bdifjmxxwnidtzlaueha" href="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></a><a class="bdifjmxxwnidtzlaueha" href="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></a><a class="bdifjmxxwnidtzlaueha" href="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></a><a class="bdifjmxxwnidtzlaueha" href="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></a></object><br /><br /><i>Armistice</i>, while often unconventional, is not always mid-tempo and cerebral. "Spotlight," "Electrify," "Goodbye" and the title track can all hang with the best dance-rock you're likely to find, especially the latter with its groovy funk, frenetic bass and killer horn section. Fans of the band's debut will dig "Pins and Needles," with its relatively sparse instrumentation and jazzy percussion. And U2 themselves--along with a number of other lame pop bands--could learn a thing or two from the ballad "Lost Year," which drops the synths in favor of a piano and strings, and manages to lay a beautiful track over a still-interesting beat, not sacrificing Mute Math's identity.<br /><br /><object height="40" width="250"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="window"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15236664&style=wood&p=0"> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15236664&style=wood&p=0" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="40" width="250"></embed><a class="bdifjmxxwnidtzlaueha" href="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></a><a class="bdifjmxxwnidtzlaueha" href="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></a><a class="bdifjmxxwnidtzlaueha" href="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></a><a class="bdifjmxxwnidtzlaueha" href="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></a></object><br /><br />Though I seem to be in the critical minority with this opinion, I think that <i>Armistice</i> is a step forward for this talented band. They've added a subtle new dimension to their sound while maintaining their uniqueness; essentially, they've held on to their originality without re-hashing their debut. As I said, it's a nice balance between the experimental and the accessible. I've never understood the thinking of critics who pine that a new record is not the old record. It seems counter-intuitive to hope that a band never progresses or tweaks their sound as they mature as songwriters and musicians; that maturation what makes a momentarily great band into a reliable favorite. My dad used to tell me that to consider a band great, each of their albums had to be better than its predecessor. It may be to early to state whether Mute Math will achieve that level of greatness, but <i>Armistice</i> is a worthy notice of intent.Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08593957419942795980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-76974511286854595702009-09-22T09:00:00.009-04:002009-09-22T09:00:04.862-04:00Our Favorite Album CoversMuch like a musician who is part of a band but also releases solo material, I'm sort of glad we saved this post for this site as opposed to Pajiba. Of course, maybe if we woulda posted this on Pajiba, we'd still be on Pajiba. Right. Because this post is going to be <em>that important</em>.<br /><br />I also want you to know that this post is totally NOT SUITABLE FOR WORK! You have been warned.<br /><br />Anyway, here are each writer's (who cared to participate) Top 3 covers:<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Sean</span></strong><br /><br /><b>Buchanan</b>, <i>All Understood</i><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4jtdY0Xv3vHg9tBpUzrHlF6tsAqKuCzdaYhGwRNU8-dFkv-AVQMl9BjzdBu7y-tw0frFKAuzeTMQUxuscJpsyATohWfAIYSK_D2E87KJHyZSvcWaNlRRwkQPuwoO6GhbPvFsoF56f7YT/s1600-h/Buchanan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383564742863574146" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4jtdY0Xv3vHg9tBpUzrHlF6tsAqKuCzdaYhGwRNU8-dFkv-AVQMl9BjzdBu7y-tw0frFKAuzeTMQUxuscJpsyATohWfAIYSK_D2E87KJHyZSvcWaNlRRwkQPuwoO6GhbPvFsoF56f7YT/s320/Buchanan.jpg" border="0" /></a> It's not graphic or even all that provocative, but it always struck me as amusing. We know what's going on in there, guys. Maybe not the specifics, but...we get it. Lotta steam, too; somebody's <i>good</i>.<br /><br /><b>Faith No More</b>, <i>Songs to Make Love To</i><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95bjzg4Y7vlwZf1MRaXMmu7WQ-q7zkUMt77JUm4hh1YuWsAwGF0uNxR3rr_m1K4pce0WX4ZfAJPoTd2ltK24S1q9oBqjWU99jc-SoINrVE8F8nSRO7EmQzgIZsI-UByz5U63fjyr6LQuB/s1600-h/FNM.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382802377841923554" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95bjzg4Y7vlwZf1MRaXMmu7WQ-q7zkUMt77JUm4hh1YuWsAwGF0uNxR3rr_m1K4pce0WX4ZfAJPoTd2ltK24S1q9oBqjWU99jc-SoINrVE8F8nSRO7EmQzgIZsI-UByz5U63fjyr6LQuB/s320/FNM.jpg" border="0" /></a> Rhinoceros humping. Indeed.<br /><br /><b>Rush</b>, <i>Power Windows</i><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTVBAMwLcK_sFd7nBe8-0mtOqEHf14hnUzwP3V85i434OcdkCmTojnzEEvueJU4S8M1CzBYKR0eFb5MhepW77QE0THMIJB5lsXvyVxq4XYH-ounESBpYjKLhmxuGfbsDIhcCXEFEvxx4E/s1600-h/Rush_Power_Windows.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382806349372476498" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTVBAMwLcK_sFd7nBe8-0mtOqEHf14hnUzwP3V85i434OcdkCmTojnzEEvueJU4S8M1CzBYKR0eFb5MhepW77QE0THMIJB5lsXvyVxq4XYH-ounESBpYjKLhmxuGfbsDIhcCXEFEvxx4E/s320/Rush_Power_Windows.jpg" border="0" /></a> Alright, so my musical tastes don't really lend themselves to controversial cover art. You'll have to deal with what I think is cool, then. Hugh Syme has been producing excellent, thought-provoking cover art for decades, and this is one of my favorites.<br /><br />I'd also like to make a brief mention of another prolific cover-artist: Storm Thorgerson. Not necessarily because he's produced a number of iconic covers, including Pink Floyd's <i>Dark Side of the Moon</i>. But because the man's name--his GIVEN NAME--is <i>STORM</i> fucking <i>THORGERSON</i>. I dare you to find me a legit birth name that's more rock 'n' roll than that.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Jez</span></strong><br /><br /><strong>Dwarves</strong>, <em>Blood, Guts & Pussy</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380172666822622418" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrouEwlPiis96fkpsJjcS6Ct0_4g2Efoezg6E1JmVUkiYtODXm2rQ_BFRxYS_UGUD2tqt8vg-A-MiE2PGcrSHfwo7lK09K79X95jd_sUGqGBSkunisYcDxJghNT8YBePBsoG-q_ZhH2iSc/s320/DWARVESBGP320.jpg" border="0" /> Yeah, it's totally misogynist, but there are naked women covered in blood and a dwarf acting like he's having sex with a rabbit. It's totally an affront to your sensibilities.<br /><br /><strong>Black Crowes</strong>, <em>Amorica</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiHNQ_aI9Oyg1BrM3G207rA3GovSudfM2EzXmvxydLGReauRxfRl2du13Aw-hnlnX3yxzZZBmGYZopmdV2WkbireqNTZbn1EgAeeuAIqlTDc0B9pjqfrfKj-PbjIjeu_kXjaaZ8wZnzLt/s1600-h/BlackCrowesAmorica.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380174829321079138" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiHNQ_aI9Oyg1BrM3G207rA3GovSudfM2EzXmvxydLGReauRxfRl2du13Aw-hnlnX3yxzZZBmGYZopmdV2WkbireqNTZbn1EgAeeuAIqlTDc0B9pjqfrfKj-PbjIjeu_kXjaaZ8wZnzLt/s320/BlackCrowesAmorica.jpg" border="0" /></a> Umm, so yeah. I kind of like the low-brow covers.<br /><br /><strong>Zipgun</strong>, <em>Baltimore</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSamTUVi1ee9pRLPYQlH9JKQDL6aREQcSuJxqUAc4grpxxJGvWRnIduJehyphenhyphenZwbas-HKpx-WXLydYLeDPNjeX1-B6lWV9-IH71w2w86Qz1z1QFB_R1bwrrhLQkBI_3Pj1aKfu0V_8Ip1W2c/s1600-h/ZipgunBaltimore320.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 298px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380176328258303794" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSamTUVi1ee9pRLPYQlH9JKQDL6aREQcSuJxqUAc4grpxxJGvWRnIduJehyphenhyphenZwbas-HKpx-WXLydYLeDPNjeX1-B6lWV9-IH71w2w86Qz1z1QFB_R1bwrrhLQkBI_3Pj1aKfu0V_8Ip1W2c/s320/ZipgunBaltimore320.jpg" border="0" /></a> A guy dressed up in a bunny suit giving an easter egg to a poodle. Folks, I dare you to find a more fucked up cover than this. Not necessarily a big smack in the head like the first two, but more like <em>"What the fuck?"</em><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Chris Polley<br /></span></strong><br /><strong>STNNNG</strong>,<strong> </strong><em>Dignified Sissy</em> [Modern Radio; 2005]<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCXANxxsYL4VY_-p8jr1Kf3k_5ApFL6ohqOD0ve7oPw6h0coMeKjFu8yDmnnON0oVkSQpnM6z_6Yhb1Zyjbo44mqOtC4Mvbj8b0HpCqODDln99sVuiy-LoeHkV-4yLqYhOPHV2KRErqwCQ/s1600-h/stnnng.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383562478862642674" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCXANxxsYL4VY_-p8jr1Kf3k_5ApFL6ohqOD0ve7oPw6h0coMeKjFu8yDmnnON0oVkSQpnM6z_6Yhb1Zyjbo44mqOtC4Mvbj8b0HpCqODDln99sVuiy-LoeHkV-4yLqYhOPHV2KRErqwCQ/s320/stnnng.jpg" border="0" /></a> I already knew the Minneapolis spazz-punk outfit STNNNG were awesome when I saw them live. It just so happened that an album cover featuring a polar bear viciously attacking armed men cinched the deal for me when contemplating whether to purchase their music. Also, every song sounds like the gruesome act depicted in the detailed illustration, so they get bonus points for appropriately complementary iconography.<br /><br /><strong>I Am David Sparkle</strong>, <em>This Is The New</em> [Kitty Wu; 2007] </p><br /><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcE3UeLZRdXGtzP_Dx6omDf93dLIRsF479xCwIT5kww6tuN_LZQluGJkA-rm41nBjpupPMModegBJMvrb_9bV_fDr0gM1t6YtAY6Oif0e7zK_seg4uTsQuDlc3FWwscYjsuGm-Zcilt2PQ/s1600-h/I+Am+David+Sparkle_This+Is_CD+Cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 319px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383562710219685346" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcE3UeLZRdXGtzP_Dx6omDf93dLIRsF479xCwIT5kww6tuN_LZQluGJkA-rm41nBjpupPMModegBJMvrb_9bV_fDr0gM1t6YtAY6Oif0e7zK_seg4uTsQuDlc3FWwscYjsuGm-Zcilt2PQ/s320/I+Am+David+Sparkle_This+Is_CD+Cover.jpg" border="0" /></a> Okay so the actual visual, especially in JPEG form, of this album is nothing notable. But what makes holding the album cover in your hands so special upon purchasing the glistening and climactic instrumental guitar music of Singapore's I Am David Sparkle is that in order to get to the CD, you have to at least partially destroy its paper casing upon which the artwork is printed. Sewed together on all four sides with black thread, it is impossible to remove the disc from the packaging without ripping its cover, forcing you to work, to undo, to disassemble the art in order to hear the music. Call me a sucker, but I love pretentious shit like this.<br /><br /><strong>Owen</strong>, <em>At Home With</em> [Polyvinyl; 2006]<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ZaEaHbxVpSnr6uo-zh_bn6WGS2IMi98EG01si3ck71KhGyXck32BdV-n3tcsU6GqIR_taudnOeyB6CSeEg-Gp-_ajzPfWPCuM0DOlGl3i3Epw-h1E_H-KbEkCyHeddsKK4whV1P7Cfpy/s1600-h/owen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px; display: block; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383562575693700546" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ZaEaHbxVpSnr6uo-zh_bn6WGS2IMi98EG01si3ck71KhGyXck32BdV-n3tcsU6GqIR_taudnOeyB6CSeEg-Gp-_ajzPfWPCuM0DOlGl3i3Epw-h1E_H-KbEkCyHeddsKK4whV1P7Cfpy/s320/owen.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Maybe I'm just an idiot, but I owned this album for a good two months before I noticed the item of mystery behind its cover's photographic composition. There the record sat, in my car's passenger seat, every single day for weeks as I listened to it obsessively on repeat, until one night I parked in my garage, picked it up to bring inside as the dim overhead light helped me catch a new found glimpse of its front side. Suddenly, as I stared, crickets chirping and the engine finally whirring down to a slight whine, I noticed it. Behind the fog, lying on the grass amongst the intimidating sprawling tree and foliage I finally saw it. If you're like me and don't see it right away, look closer. Hopefully when you notice it, it won't be as the automatic light in your car and garage turn off simultaneously and freak you out to the point of smacking your head on the door.</p><p style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Boo</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nirvana, </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Nevermind</span></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AqF1_iwoIFU/Srg7a299o1I/AAAAAAAAABQ/d9hzfJCHnLg/s1600-h/nirvana-nevermind.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AqF1_iwoIFU/Srg7a299o1I/AAAAAAAAABQ/d9hzfJCHnLg/s320/nirvana-nevermind.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384118687139472210" border="0" /></a></p><p>This is probably one of the most iconic album covers of my generation. I mean, you have the triumvirate of power, all captured here in a perversely simple image: money, penis, and swimming pools. (I could get all pretentious here, and talk about the imagery as symbolism for the delicate balance between life and death, but honestly, it's been a long day and I really just want to give this bottle of wine a blow job.)<br /></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ween</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Chocolate & Cheese</span></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AqF1_iwoIFU/Srg9QWVHiEI/AAAAAAAAABY/DN4Ypwtrl5g/s1600-h/ween_chocolate_cheese_fr.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AqF1_iwoIFU/Srg9QWVHiEI/AAAAAAAAABY/DN4Ypwtrl5g/s320/ween_chocolate_cheese_fr.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384120705602783298" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AqF1_iwoIFU/Srg9lGgVLLI/AAAAAAAAABg/jCx9MwXM2R0/s1600-h/ween_back.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AqF1_iwoIFU/Srg9lGgVLLI/AAAAAAAAABg/jCx9MwXM2R0/s320/ween_back.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384121062132100274" border="0" /></a></p><p>I had to add my own boobage. Ween and a pro-wrestling reference. I'm Southern. Need I say more? Oh yeah: blowjob.<br /></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Aphex Twin,</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Windowlicker</span><br /></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AqF1_iwoIFU/SrhApP9e32I/AAAAAAAAABo/xhLIGCJ3Yww/s1600-h/windowlicker.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 312px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AqF1_iwoIFU/SrhApP9e32I/AAAAAAAAABo/xhLIGCJ3Yww/s320/windowlicker.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384124431924649826" border="0" /></a></p>Jez: I see your Zipgun cover and raise you an Aphex Twin.<br /><br />Sleep tight, kids.Jezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130897549926261047noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-45889267046241427062009-09-21T08:00:00.028-04:002009-09-21T14:19:56.295-04:00Music News: A collaboration you might not have seen coming<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6n2RqDk06gM36RAG2KAC5hoOAiftRW18t98aZEW0pRl2ge-XPl1bE7a-5sLO9X_7WtJePMcR4ZVQiz688ylYDkd2PhMWXJEU7zP9ZWM1TuSLQ3xjrgqx0V32i_LohZUkHfBWdQxS83C9/s1600-h/balck+keys.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381476704657013714" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 118px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 118px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6n2RqDk06gM36RAG2KAC5hoOAiftRW18t98aZEW0pRl2ge-XPl1bE7a-5sLO9X_7WtJePMcR4ZVQiz688ylYDkd2PhMWXJEU7zP9ZWM1TuSLQ3xjrgqx0V32i_LohZUkHfBWdQxS83C9/s200/balck+keys.jpg" border="0" /></a>Finally some "piss in my pants with excitement" music news. Let's be real here. Most of the music news I report here is ho-hum. This right here is mind-blowing.<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252969654_0" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 1px; BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: rgb(0,102,204); CURSOR: pointer"> The Black Keys</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> are producing and performing on a hip-hop album featuring </span><b><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Rza</span></b>, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252969654_1" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" ><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Raekwon</span></span>, <b style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252969654_2" style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous">Mos Def</span></b>, <b><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252969654_3" style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: pointer; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous">Jim Jones</span></b><span style="font-family:georgia;">, </span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252969654_4" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuousfont-family:georgia;" ><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Pharoah</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Monch</span></span>, <b>Q-tip</b>, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252969654_5" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:georgia;" ><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Ludacris</span></span>, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252969654_6" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:georgia;" ><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">ODB</span></span>, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" >Billy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Danze</span></span> of <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;">M.O.P.</span>, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold";>Noe </span>and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252969654_7" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 1px; BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: rgb(0,102,204); CURSOR: pointer">Nikki <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Wray</span></span>. The album is called <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic;" ><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Blakroc</span></span> and will be released <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252969654_8" style="BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 1px; BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: rgb(0,102,204); CURSOR: pointer">on Friday November 27<sup><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">th</span></sup></span>. The album is supposedly being released on a label started by <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252969654_9" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuousfont-family:georgia;" >Damon Dash</span> and The Black Keys management. You can register your e-mail address at <a href="http://blakroc.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Blakroc</span>.com</a> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" style="font-family:georgia;">pre</span>-order the album, view videos of how this project came to be and hear some snippets of the new music. I know the following clip has nothing to do with music news but the instant I heard the name Damon Dash I thought of this: <br /><br /><table style="FONT: 11px arial; COLOR: #333; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f5f5f5" height="353" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="360"><tbody><tr style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #e5e5e5" valign="center"><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 1px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 2px"><a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: #333; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/chappelles_show/index.jhtml" target="_blank">Chappelle's Show</a></td><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 2px; TEXT-ALIGN: right"></td></tr><tr style="HEIGHT: 14px" valign="center"><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 1px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 2px" colspan="2"><a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: #333; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=212993&title=roca-pads" target="_blank">Roca Pads</a></td></tr><tr style="HEIGHT: 14px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #353535" valign="center"><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; OVERFLOW: hidden; WIDTH: 360px; PADDING-TOP: 2px; TEXT-ALIGN: right" colspan="2"><a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: #96deff; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.comedycentral.com/" target="_blank">http://www.comedycentral.com/</a></td></tr><tr valign="center"><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" colspan="2"><embed style="DISPLAY: block" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:212993" width="360" height="301" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="window" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="autoPlay=false" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all" bgcolor="#000000"></embed></td></tr><tr style="HEIGHT: 18px" valign="center"><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" colspan="2"><table style="MARGIN: 0px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr valign="center"><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; WIDTH: 33%; PADDING-TOP: 3px"><a style="FONT: 10px arial; COLOR: #333; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://shop.comedycentral.com/?v=comedy-central_shows_chappelles-show&SESSID=870783e1901f9dd5c2769413fc45aa24" target="_blank">Buy Chappelle's Show DVDs</a></td><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; WIDTH: 33%; PADDING-TOP: 3px"><a style="FONT: 10px arial; COLOR: #333; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/chappelles_show/videos/index.jhtml" target="_blank">Black Comedy</a></td><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; WIDTH: 33%; PADDING-TOP: 3px"><a style="FONT: 10px arial; COLOR: #333; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=11909&title=hes-rick-james" target="_blank">True Hollywood Story</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic;font-family:georgia;" >-Felicia</span><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:10;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:QZLojBbEZnHYqM:http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/322600/The%2BWhite%2BStripes.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 114px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 120px" alt="" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:QZLojBbEZnHYqM:http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/322600/The%2BWhite%2BStripes.jpg" border="0" /></a>Surprisingly, the notoriously interview-shy <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253475440_0" style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous"><strong>White Stripes</strong></span> have a documentary coming out about their tour of Canada in 2007. Called <em><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253475440_1" style="CURSOR: pointer; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed">The White Stripes</span> Under <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253475440_2" style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: pointer; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous">Great White</span> Northern Lights</em> (an unnecessarily long title if you ask me), the film debuted at the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253475440_3">Toronto Film Festival</span> this week. Apparently, the film (which is black and white, of course) plays on a lot of the ongoing jokes of the Stripes’ career, such as whether they’re siblings or ex-husband and wife and the fact that Meg almost never talks. No word yet on a wider release for the film, though I’m sure it’ll be on my DVD shelf eventually. -<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Christian H.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-kO_d3-6pThmmcIm-kLbIsK2DOQ3_9irGLJA6MRUf1c58Hy8_1kEeQh81XMpeWE0Ub-dVtbC3eBe4_O3RvyHId1Gfdo-piwz2LdUII2xgsFBG8bMJ55tGPDsf4zlvcS2qHe4xkbZvhuJ/s1600-h/beasties.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382231095955209026" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 133px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 93px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-kO_d3-6pThmmcIm-kLbIsK2DOQ3_9irGLJA6MRUf1c58Hy8_1kEeQh81XMpeWE0Ub-dVtbC3eBe4_O3RvyHId1Gfdo-piwz2LdUII2xgsFBG8bMJ55tGPDsf4zlvcS2qHe4xkbZvhuJ/s320/beasties.jpg" border="0" /></a>Last Tuesday marked the day that the <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Beastie Boys</span> were supposed to release their new album, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1</span>. Due to Adam "MCA" Yauch's cancer diagnosis a few months ago, the release date has been pushed back indefinitely. However, the Beasties re-released a digital version of <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Hello Nasty</span> in its place. The album includes the original remastered album plus 21 bonus tracks, skits and rarities. A physical release will take place on Tuesday September 22nd. There are a multitude of packages you can choose, including a double vinyl and a collector's edition vinyl. All the add-ons can be viewed at the <a href="http://hellonasty.beastieboys.com/">Beasties' website</a>. <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">-Felicia</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><a href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:DzUriq92J9WtHM:http://www.oesquema.com.br/trabalhosujo/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/pavement.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 129px; HEIGHT: 131px" alt="" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:DzUriq92J9WtHM:http://www.oesquema.com.br/trabalhosujo/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/pavement.jpg" border="0" /></a></span>In what I think is the coolest news of the week, <strong>Pavement</strong> has announced that they are getting back together! Well, for a tour…in 2010. They’ve only announced three shows so far, all in NYC, but they claim it’s going to be a full-on tour “around the world,” which has my jukebox jumbling. For those who are unaware, Pavement is basically the band that made indie <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253475440_7">garage rock</span> cool in the ‘90s with albums like <i>Slanted and Enchanted</i> and <i>Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain</i>. They made a lot of music before they broke up in 1999, so they will have lots of material to choose from as they go out and play. They say this tour “isn’t prelude to a permanent reunion” and that it’ll probably just be this tour and that’s it. I’m usually very negative about reunion tours, especially for ‘90s bands, but basically, if they come to Minneapolis, I will get a ticket or die trying. <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">–Christian H.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_lztJ50sQh_jx-MYkhIQoXoabZbkkCrU5wB0ndQZSCEuZRSHAzXEshIwDAZO3gbY9X0dirVXedGoDb5DcbAmyG8mM0HDmnp9Q-VbAQXUP8HXnNl4sjF2kuhG-lGuQSazFE-hD76k7oHP/s1600-h/muse.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382608444514737970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 123px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 122px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_lztJ50sQh_jx-MYkhIQoXoabZbkkCrU5wB0ndQZSCEuZRSHAzXEshIwDAZO3gbY9X0dirVXedGoDb5DcbAmyG8mM0HDmnp9Q-VbAQXUP8HXnNl4sjF2kuhG-lGuQSazFE-hD76k7oHP/s320/muse.jpg" border="0" /></a></span>I've been a long time fan of <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Muse</span> so it's kind of disturbing to think they're just now gaining popularity due to the use of their song "Supermassive Black Hole" in the <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Twilight</span> movie. I admit I read all the books and even saw the movie twice (as our readership drops from ten to one after that revelation) but I hate the fact that they'll be known as "The Twilight Band" from here on out. In any case, Muse just released the video for their new single "Uprising." The song has grown on me, but their older stuff will always be closest to my heart. Oh, and they still haven't gotten credit for when that monster Adam Lambert sang their arrangement and cover of "Feeling Good" on American Idol, which is one of my favorite covers of all time.<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TAP5Sr3R638&hl=en&fs=1&"></object><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">-Felicia</span><br /><br />As always, it's my pleasure to present your <b>Monday Playlist</b>.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Felicia</span>: We have an MPR radio station here in Minneapolis called <a href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/the_current/">The Current</a> and at 4:00 p.m. t they play a "No Apologies" track, meaning there are literally no apologies for the dissemination od a possibly hideous song. It's one of my favorite features on radio only because I usually really like the songs they play. It's normally a throwback or something so bad it's good, like a Meatloaf tune. Last week they played<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> INXS</span>'s "Not Enough Time." It reminded me how much I love INXS and how hard my heart aches that I will never be able to see the original INXS live. It also reminded me what a fucking atrocity that reality show was where they were looking for a new lead singer. How dare they try to replace Michael Hutchence, and they should be ashamed for selling out like that. I was one of those people who refused to watch that garbage and was just short of staging a sit-in protest against it. Long live the real INXS in all its glory.<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> </span><br /><br /><b>Sean</b>: My contribution to an upcoming collaborative piece got me listening to one of my favorite albums from my post-college and performing years, <b>Buchanan</b>'s <i>All Understood</i>. I don't think it's possible to place this record in any particular genre aside from the broad and true "independent" descriptor; it runs the gamut of styles, from rock to acoustic to soul, jazz and blues. The sultry groove of "Satan Is A Woman" behind Jay Buchanan's creamy, expressive voice paints a vivid picture of a man with absolutely no power over himself, and of the woman who just <i>owns</i> him.<br /><br /><b>Chris</b>: "Cloudbank" by <b>Julianna Barwick</b>, from her new release <i>Florine</i>, is an instrumental song that only uses vocals. Wrap your head around that for a second. Using tons of delay, reverb, and looping techniques, Barwick creates an atmospheric soundscape that's at once enveloping and sparse, which is (or should be, anyway) the ultimate goal of quality ambient music. The wispy layers of her voice crescendo with ease and longing while the gulps of silence that intercede her experiment throb with pain and aching. It goes to show that music doesn't need to be crowded with sound to be impressive or sound big. And Barwick does it with the only instrument that doesn't cost a penny.<br /><br /><object width="250" height="400"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/widget.swf"></param> <param name="wmode" value="window"></param> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15330309&style=metal&bbg=5e5757&bfg=D6D6D6&bt=000847&bth=000000&pbg=0c0847&pbgh=D6D6D6&pfg=FFFFFF&pfgh=000847&si=7A7A7A&lbg=000847&lbgh=5e5e57&lfg=FFFFFF&lfgh=000847&sb=000847&sbh=D6D6D6&p=0"></param> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/widget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="250" height="400" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15330309&style=metal&bbg=5e5757&bfg=D6D6D6&bt=000847&bth=000000&pbg=0c0847&pbgh=D6D6D6&pfg=FFFFFF&pfgh=000847&si=7A7A7A&lbg=000847&lbgh=5e5e57&lfg=FFFFFF&lfgh=000847&sb=000847&sbh=D6D6D6&p=0" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="window"></embed></object><br /><br />We hope you're enjoying what you're seeing around here. Thanks for reading. Have a good week. <i>-Sean</i>Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270331661418915316noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-45630568647567334532009-09-18T08:10:00.001-04:002009-09-18T09:22:19.707-04:00Bread sucks. I love cheese. What?<b>My Favorite Middle Eights</b><br /><br />I've written a few songs in my day. Songwriting isn't easy. I've learned, though--both from my brief foray into composition and from my lifelong obsession with pop music--that the biggest challenge in writing a great song isn't the intro or the ending; great intros and endings are a dime a dozen. The real challenge is in writing the perfect Middle Eight.<br /><br />What is the middle eight, you ask? In the most basic thirty-two bar pop songs, the middle eight is that part that's neither verse nor chorus; it's often referred to as the bridge, as well. It deviates from the structure of the verse-chorus progression, often changing key and/or shifting into minor and seventh chords. In many modern pop-rock songs, it also serves as a transitory section into an instrumental or solo. And when it's done right, it can turn a good song into a pop masterpiece.<br /><br />My appreciation for this particular aspect of pop music was imbued in me by my father; a great middle-eight, he always said, should be your favorite part of a song. A great middle-eight could help a song pass his ultimate test of pop excellence: it would give him goosebumps. The perfect minor chord progression under a catchy melody and killer harmony, leading into a sustained vocal peak--it often feels like a tiny little song unto itself before moving seamlessly back into the main theme. Dad raised me on <b>The Beatles</b>, so they are, of course, his standard for all pop songwriting (as they should be). We'll begin our playlist, then, with my very favorite Beatles middle eight: <b>"We Can Work It Out" (0:37 & 1:22)</b>*. This middle-eight is the perfect illustration of what I described a few sentences ago; it's also the most memorable part of the song.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">*Times shown represent the start of the middle-eight in each song.</span><br /><br />Turning to more modern music, the middle-eight that has always blown us both (Dad and I, that is) away is from <b>Fastball</b>'s <b>"Warm Fuzzy Feeling" (0:54)</b>. This song, I believe, should be taught as a clinic on pop songwriting: the first verse hooks you in, the second takes it up a notch with harmony and the background vocals, the middle-eight takes twenty-two second<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj37KIeFpH48FqyqZATlk2voYOmBk7sC9pfDN3_hZyA0-xHuqXBVhcZc3rluUlOGA4LCBwesEimKks5z_j5ELlt6dfd-wRK1pgNtcbL8oM_V41Udlmb5-6B_NdLEtiYLWDFkMYHeKQOBJ6/s1600-h/album-all-the-pain-money-can-buy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 151px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj37KIeFpH48FqyqZATlk2voYOmBk7sC9pfDN3_hZyA0-xHuqXBVhcZc3rluUlOGA4LCBwesEimKks5z_j5ELlt6dfd-wRK1pgNtcbL8oM_V41Udlmb5-6B_NdLEtiYLWDFkMYHeKQOBJ6/s200/album-all-the-pain-money-can-buy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382459270796299522" border="0" /></a>s to blow your mind, and the final verse cools you down, kicks you in the face with a minor-chord ending, and leaves you breathless, all in <i>less than two minutes</i>. Rinse, repeat. Lester Bangs would be proud.<br /><br />A similarly structured--albeit longer--song, is <b>Panic at the Disco</b>'s <b>"When the Day Met the Night" (2:22)</b>. The dynamics of the verse-chorus change in this song, the veiled, calm beauty of the verse contrasted with the bright and sunny chorus (sorry, I know that's punny) is just excellent, but the vocal harmony and the strings in the middle-eight really put it over the top for me. The high note and even higher harmony that ends the bridge of <b>"Fallen Leaves" (2:05)</b>, from <b>Billy Talent</b>, is a soaring end to its staccato-based minor section, an<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTgLX0fgIIaZsw-6RYgeQSASttBlj514TvlIDpJwzVhWJEsMaz0CPgmS80gENH6Nm0tNNZ2PErIRjcpNJM72FAmt0NKFedJ7D7Wf22yg5h3N7k22t9ZU2u7jsTrNhMpOd0PGY1Wtmq7vi/s1600-h/51MD783M8EL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 149px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTgLX0fgIIaZsw-6RYgeQSASttBlj514TvlIDpJwzVhWJEsMaz0CPgmS80gENH6Nm0tNNZ2PErIRjcpNJM72FAmt0NKFedJ7D7Wf22yg5h3N7k22t9ZU2u7jsTrNhMpOd0PGY1Wtmq7vi/s200/51MD783M8EL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382459263503892146" border="0" /></a>d the "la-la-la-la" background of <b>Head Automatica</b>'s <b>"Scandalous" (2:34)</b> creates a standout on an aptly-named record (<i>Popaganda</i>) full of nearly flawless power-pop. Like "Fallen Leaves," the high note that peaks the middle-eight in <b>Gavin DeGraw</b>'s excellent <b>"Chariot" (2:08)</b> makes me want to fly, indeed. In slightly heavier territory (and in better days for this band), the middle-eight of <b>"Earthquake" (1:47)</b> by <b>The Used</b> is the most powerful moment of a spectacular rock ballad, as Bert begs: "have I murdered our love?"<br /><br />I'll almost certainly be slammed for admitting this, but I really like <b>Matchbox Twenty</b>. Please don't take this to mean that I like Rob Thomas; Rob Thomas is a tool, and his solo music is balls. But what began as a catchy but typical 90's band became a power-pop powerhouse with <i>Mad Season</i> and <i>More Than You Think You Are</i>. The middle-eight from <b>"All I Need" (2:16)</b>--a song already full of perfectly-placed minor and seventh chords--has been a favorite of mine for years for the way it pulls the song into the guitar solo.<br /><br />Back to less embarrassing entries: <b>House of Heroes</b> is one of the most criminally under-appreciated power-pop/rock bands operating today; their <i>The End is Not The End</i> is a nearly perfect combination of pop hooks, concept themes and impressive musicianship. It's tough not to sing along as the middle-eight of <b>"Leave You Now" (1:22)</b> finishes, falsetto-style, with "the only ending that is fitting is you and me, baby." Another of my less-appreciated <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKVM4CEwM_TvVWvMPEVMP-ktrwerA1SIL3XK2KUI_u7k-1J3-QekklEpZuNINNLMovK8EW9fev7yNUHLDRFr0SXMdF3cBL9zFJ5NxWHMONZMRx4vSUrUZgp6pMxook0cL9hjZbrEWfgwRf/s1600-h/ed463f21e16b15014b4f6a2969f4c772.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKVM4CEwM_TvVWvMPEVMP-ktrwerA1SIL3XK2KUI_u7k-1J3-QekklEpZuNINNLMovK8EW9fev7yNUHLDRFr0SXMdF3cBL9zFJ5NxWHMONZMRx4vSUrUZgp6pMxook0cL9hjZbrEWfgwRf/s200/ed463f21e16b15014b4f6a2969f4c772.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382459283512607586" border="0" /></a>stand-bys (and one that actually has <a href="http://themusicisthemessage.blogspot.com/2008/10/quick-cut-great-big-sea.html">been mentioned</a> 'round these parts before) is <b>Great Big Sea</b>. <b>"When I Am King" (1:12)</b> is just so unapologetic in its optimism, you can't help but smile through the cheese of it all. From GBS' fellow Canadians <b>The Waking Eyes</b>, the bluesy <b>"Wolves at the Door" (1:55)</b> leads into a slide-guitar solo with an anthemic bridge that bursts with energy. <b>Fountains of Wayne</b> have been perhaps the most reliable Beatles-inspired power-pop band of the last decade; from their latest record, <b>"Yolanda Hayes" (2:00</b><b>)</b> throws background vocals, a killer ending-harmony and a great horn section together for its bridge. <b>"Sense of Henry" (3:12)</b> has been a favorite song, solo and favorite middle-eight since I discovered <b>I Mother Earth</b> back in high school; it's not exactly pop, but this bridge is still the best part of the song.<br /><br />Finally, I'll end with the fast, furious, thoroughly unkind and yet irresistible <b>"She Was Dead" (1:27)</b> from <b>SR-71</b>, the always-overlooked and consistently good rock band who wrote and recorded the original (and one-hundred percent better) version of "1985," which unfortunately propelled Bowling for Soup to stardom.<br /><br />Remember, folks: the bread of the song sandwich--the intro and end--are the easy parts. The verse/chorus are certainly the meat, giving the whole concoction its volume. The middle-eight, then, I guess would be the cheese; you don't need it, but it sure makes the sandwich better. I'm not sure what I'm talking about anymore, but I do know that I love cheese. <i>Love it.</i><br /><br />As always, please weigh in with your own favorites, criticisms and/or insults.<br /><br /><object height="400" width="250"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/widget.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="window"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15276399&style=metal&bbg=5e5757&bfg=D6D6D6&bt=000847&bth=000000&pbg=0c0847&pbgh=D6D6D6&pfg=FFFFFF&pfgh=000847&si=7A7A7A&lbg=000847&lbgh=5e5e57&lfg=FFFFFF&lfgh=000847&sb=000847&sbh=D6D6D6&p=0"> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/widget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15276399&style=metal&bbg=5e5757&bfg=D6D6D6&bt=000847&bth=000000&pbg=0c0847&pbgh=D6D6D6&pfg=FFFFFF&pfgh=000847&si=7A7A7A&lbg=000847&lbgh=5e5e57&lfg=FFFFFF&lfgh=000847&sb=000847&sbh=D6D6D6&p=0" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="400" width="250"></embed></object>Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08593957419942795980noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-52747570747958091522009-09-17T11:24:00.008-04:002009-09-17T18:29:30.326-04:00Come Together<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhMdJgUQ7nrWntLcIZJf6ghubllwupTEKNl-LdB6vKFdDad22Qi51pQjOMtzqhZ_1O5tJ5MgqVY5oEKR4fvz_iFIzv06pQCtZCexx4Gia7VUaw2qUvRY93bMa73OJq8O7HNv_e8EH6mk/s1600-h/Breakupscarlettyorn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382469585377574914" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 245px; height: 194px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhMdJgUQ7nrWntLcIZJf6ghubllwupTEKNl-LdB6vKFdDad22Qi51pQjOMtzqhZ_1O5tJ5MgqVY5oEKR4fvz_iFIzv06pQCtZCexx4Gia7VUaw2qUvRY93bMa73OJq8O7HNv_e8EH6mk/s320/Breakupscarlettyorn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson</strong>: <em>Break Up</em> [Atco/Rhino]<br /><br />Historically, when a popular young actress like Scarlett Johansson decides to break into the bright, shiny world of music, the results usually fit somewhere between forgettable and disastrous. Thankfully for Johansson, her first release, a Tom Waits tribute album, was mostly on the forgettable end of the spectrum.<br /><br />Thus, when word came out that indie singer Pete Yorn had hooked up with the starlet to record a duets album (supposedly based on a dream Yorn had), ripples of trepidation and malaise were sent throughout the music community.<br /><br />One of the most pursuant criticisms of Johansson's musical debut was her voice. She's been called "flat" by some nicer critics, "tone-deaf" by some less nice ones. For me, I found her voice pleasant enough, if lacking in significant depth or range. But I can't help noticing that, in all of her films of late, her speaking voice resembles Tom Waits more than her singing voice ever could.<br /><br />Thus the buildup for <em>Break Up</em> was similar to the awkward tension that accompanies an alcoholic going to Las Vegas for the weekend. Deep down you want to stage an intervention before it happens, but it's easier to pretend everything's going to be alright and they'll be home safe.<br /><br />Thank goodness, it seems that Johansson has returned home alive and well.<br /><br /><object width="250" height="40"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></param> <param name="wmode" value="window"></param> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15265293&style=metal&p=0"></param> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="250" height="40" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15265293&style=metal&p=0" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="window"></embed></object><br /><br />In the first track, the ultra-catchy, dance-hall themed "Relator," Johansson is singing right there next to you, right into your ear, and the results are almost night-and-day compared to her previous musical work. Perhaps it's the fact that these songs were written with her in mind, perhaps it's simply working with a veteran recording artist like Pete Yorn, but for whatever reason, Johansson buys a lifetime of musical goodwill in one song.<br /><br /><object width="250" height="40"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></param> <param name="wmode" value="window"></param> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15265270&style=metal&p=0"></param> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="250" height="40" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15265270&style=metal&p=0" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="window"></embed></object><br /><br />Well, that's not entirely true. It would be wonderful to say that every song on <em>Break Up</em> has the same quality as that initial surprise, but frankly there are still some rather glaring issues. The first major stumbling block comes in track three, "I Don't Know What To Do." From hearing this, it's hard not to make comparisons to She & Him, the similar musician-actress combination of M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel. Here, Johansson's voice smacks of Deschanel's cutesy quality, while the song's structure, and even the production style basically mirrors that of She & Him. I'm not necessarily accusing them of ripping off another duo, but there's a definite case to be made.<br />This is followed by two mostly enjoyable tracks, the initially flat but ultimately worthwhile "Search Your Heart" and "Blackie's Dead" which features a warm chorus.<br /><br />Yet the album doesn't regain the epiphany-inducing impact of its beginning until the final two tracks. First there's the vaguely '90s soul of "Clean," which does a beautiful job of harmonizing two fairly nondescript vocals. And finally, there's "Someday," which, despite (or perhaps thanks to) Pete Yorn's wavering voice, is a wonderfully soft, heartfelt ballad that avoids becoming overinflated.<br /><br />Overall, there are more positives about <em>Break Up</em> than negatives. Unfortunately, that's not saying a great deal, as the "album" features only 9 songs and clocks in at just over 25 minutes, a pathetic length for an EP, let alone a full-length release. Whether Johansson should make another album is debatable. I guess all we can hope is that she takes the criticism she's gotten up to this point with dignity and respect and really weighs her strengths and weaknesses.<br /><br />Let's just hope she never makes another tribute album.<br /><br /><br />-Christian J. Hagen<br /><em>This review was previously published by the <a href="http://media.www.msureporter.com/media/storage/paper937/news/2009/09/15/Music/Pete-Yorn.And.Scarlett.Johansson.Duet.On.break.Up-3771966.shtml?reffeature=popuarstoriestab#5">Minnesota State University Reporter</a>.</em></div>ChristianHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01584398724198755197noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-30664027011090335792009-09-16T09:00:00.004-04:002009-09-16T09:00:08.753-04:00Taken By<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51cBqF4l69L._SL500_AA280_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 280px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51cBqF4l69L._SL500_AA280_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Taken By Trees</span>: <span style="font-style: italic;">East of Eden, </span>2009 [Rough Trade]<br /><br />Taken By Trees is the musical alter ego of Victoria Bergsman, the warmly wispy-voiced ex-singer of Swedish pop-combo The Concretes - and this album, <span style="font-style: italic;">East of Eden</span>, is her second under that moniker. It's pretty, pretty, pretty good. For this record, embarrassingly, Bergsman headed over to Pakistan. Somewhere that isn't the West, y'know, with its boring guitars and pianos and Chris Martin. She was apparently inspired by Qawwali, the devotional music particular to Sufism. It all sounds a little bit irritating, especially when you consider that the purpose of Qawwali is to induce a trance-like religious sort of state in the listener - but if I tell you that Bergsman has merely filched a few instruments and tricks from the tradition and largely abandoned any idea of making a fully Sufi/holy record, I hope you'll be reassured. Long live half-assed cultural tourism!<br /><br />Let's start at the beginning, with the really quite smashing opening track 'To Lose Someone', which gives a real flavour of her new sound. With The Concretes, Bergsman's calling card was a very Scandinavian sort of calm, collected pop; here, she adds so much warmth to her vocals with some sharp shakes of percussion and beautiful woodwind instruments, plus the Qawwali staples, tabla and dolak giving a soft rhythm to the whole thing. There is lots of beautiful <span style="font-style: italic;">pattern</span> here, with threads of music criss-crossing each other - particularly in the way the beautiful acoustic guitar (not a Sufi staple) marries with all of this, and cushions her voice. It's a steady voice, with a kind of drone in the way she intones - she moves from one word to the next with a bit of a lazy slur, which gives the song a contemplative feel.<br /><br /><object height="40" width="250"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="window"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15194771&style=metal&p=0"> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15194771&style=metal&p=0" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="40" width="250"></embed></object><br /><br />From here I want to skip to song numero quattro, 'Greyest Love of All'. I'm already giving it two points out of a possible ten for its hilarious title. I'm adding a steady five points for the instrumentation, with delicate fluted woodwind flying around the outskirts of the song, flirting with little ringing bells, while further in, towards the core of the song, finger-plucked guitar etches out a gentle repetitious riff, some sort of twangy instrument (a sitar?) echoes it, and the percussion bounces chirpily, counter-punching the song's sad lyrics. Her vocals get a further two points, for being so suited to their subject - that feeling of being caught in between things, neither here nor there; Bergsman sweetly hopes that some kind of happy medium can be found - and her voice is beautiful in this context. She is also echoed by a nice, silvery choir, giving lots of tone to the song. If I add a point for the poignancy of the lyrics and the overall flavour, it gets a thoroughly deserved 10/10. Well done. You also get a Smiley Face sticker, and a big tick.<br /><br /><object height="40" width="250"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="window"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15193963&style=metal&p=0"> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15193963&style=metal&p=0" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="40" width="250"></embed></object><br /><br />You'll have gathered, then, that the record is really a pop album of wise, slightly melancholy songs complemented in the best possible way by the instruments and inspiration that Bergsman has nicked from the Holy tradition. She is fully in tune with current music, being pals with Peter, Bjork and John - and on this album she reprises an Animal Collective song ('My Girls' - here re-titled 'My Boys') and gets Panda Bear (of the very same band) to contribute vocals to her marvellous song 'Dear Anna'. The latter song is a gorgeous ballad with some nice percussion and really beautifully toned guitar - and all around, Panda Bear's back-up vocals swirling about her lead, creating a truly lovely anthem. It sounds not very exotic, but rather comforting and familiar on first listen. 'My Boys' cuts through the Animal Collective production bullshit, straight through to the tune. It's got plenty of studio sass, with a bouncing artificial beat and slightly manipulated vocals - and then it chucks in its Pakistani stuff, with harmonium inflating the whole track with a sprightly warmth, and clickety beats giving it good shuffle. There's very little to it, but it's probably my favourite song on the album, and it feels full and rich despite being stripped. Again, something in her voice chimes with her lyrical call for simplicity: this paean to domesticity sounds sincere and moving.<br /><br /><object height="40" width="250"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="window"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15194728&style=metal&p=0"> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15194728&style=metal&p=0" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="40" width="250"></embed></object><br /><br />Her approach is mostly winning everywhere, with a few missteps: I thought 'Tidens Gang' was a touch listless, despite being well constructed from piano and whistles, and 'Wapas Karna' is the reason it's a good thing she didn't go all out Sufi on our ass. But 'Watch The Waves' has great rolls of drums and handclaps, and 'Day By Day' is really sweet, with a solid chorus, great choirs, bells, and some plaintive wind instruments. It ends on a high with the stirring, thoughtful 'Bekannelse'. It's an album I've really enjoyed listening to, and one I feel a lot of fondness towards.Casparhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13138238756238363744noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-77897431065853295892009-09-15T08:00:00.001-04:002009-09-15T08:07:45.314-04:00Seriously, though. What Did I Expect?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSz0HyG4gNMKgYsP3o4-MG9nBwryzHD6gv4bXLQQYAB5GJeQFT0UhbsPWpZD-TDA8zxXXaguTTUbp03x5X779PRyWCtJq0En_NzQDAhAIzfZ816B9TGh_iJMH5ZctXSxBlqi8YlmTWcQUZ/s1600-h/love-drunk-3.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSz0HyG4gNMKgYsP3o4-MG9nBwryzHD6gv4bXLQQYAB5GJeQFT0UhbsPWpZD-TDA8zxXXaguTTUbp03x5X779PRyWCtJq0En_NzQDAhAIzfZ816B9TGh_iJMH5ZctXSxBlqi8YlmTWcQUZ/s200/love-drunk-3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381373890238127490" /></a><br /><b>Boys Like Girls</b>: <i>Love Drunk</i><br />[Columbia/Red Ink]<br /><br />Okay, hang on a second. I'm confused. What did I just hear?<br /><br />Let's back up for a moment. A few years ago, a friend introduced me to a band called Boys Like Girls.<br /><br />(As an aside, I shall now provide you a frame of reference. This friend is enamored of all things "emo," and tends to be a bit dramatic with his music. He once cried, alone in his car, to a Miley Cyrus song. Make of that what you will.)<br /><br />The Boys Like Girls of their eponymous 2006 debut were pretty innocuous. They were a bunch of kids playing pop-punk lite; fast, catchy, hook-based and radio-friendly, with high-pitched vocals and the kind of beats and themes that all but guaranteed a teen-driven gold certification. The music was terribly catchy, but held up fairly well even through over-saturation. They were the perfect hit, in that way: pervasive, but not really bothersome.<br /><br />Returning, now, to <i>Love Drunk</i>, the shiny new Boys Like Girls release: I'm not entirely sure that it's them. For reals, kids. As I labored through a listen, I was not just reminded of, but convinced that I was actually hearing, all of the following: Fall Out Boy, Justin Timberlake, Pink, Carrie Underwood, and any and every American Idol winner and runner-up ever. Boys Like Girls have thrown their identity right out the fucking window. Rather than playing unoriginal music that happened to catch mainstream audiences, they are now trying with all their might to invade the ear drums of every FM radio listener in America. And, predictably, the product of such ambition is over-produced, superficial, and total shit.<br /><br />I wish that the previous paragraph were more eloquent. I really do. I just can't put together a more graceful description of my disdain for <i>Love Drunk</i>, and I have a feeling that this will continue through the remainder of this review. I decided that I required a second listen, in order to properly eviscerate the record; this was a mistake. I'm distracted by how much I hate it. I swear to you, I just got lightheaded while trying to fight through "Someone Like You" for a second time. The first time these particular vibrations hit my aural cavity and signaled my neurons, I was simply left agape and in disbelief; "My life in the rear view/I'm running from Jesus/Dont know where I'm goin' to/Got nothin' to lose, I'm fightin' my demons/Been lookin' for someone like you," sung over the awful pop-country rhythm...well, there was just no way this could be real. And I was <i>seven songs</i> into this atrocious album when I hit the crest of disbelief. I don't have an issue with the presence of religion in music; music is often meant to be spiritually uplifting. I'm a sucker for a good ballad, too. But, guys--and this applies to this whole record--a little subtlety goes a <i>long</i> way. You've got to understand, folks: I'm the guy who lists "pop-punk apologist" in his bio on this site. In general, I <i>like</i> this kind of stuff. But <i>Love Drunk</i>...it's just...terrible. TERRIBLE.<br /><br />There are AT LEAST four songs on this album that could be mistaken for Fall Out Boy. Bear in mind that I say this is as a fan of Fall Out Boy--at least they inject a touch of clever subversion and irony into their radio-friendly music. But Boys Like Girls' lead singer (I don't know his name, and I don't care) is trying his absolute damndest to sound like Patrick Stump. Gone is his winsome, youthful voice, replaced with a lower and entirely over-produced sound that I can only assume is meant to confuse children and top-40 morons (to call them zombies, as I'd thought to, would be an insult to the kick-ass walking dead) into thinking that they actually <i>are</i> Fall Out Boy. The remaining seven tracks could honestly have been performed by any of the acts I listed earlier, and they'd sound no different. They'd still sound like they were penned by a professional songwriter for a cookie-cutter performer with the expressed purpose of creating a number-one hit. They're tailor-made for total media overload, for club remixes and ringtones, with lyrics that will make for millions of lame high-school tweets and status updates. Even for a band that was never really <i>good</i>, this is utterly depressing. It's not even that I expected so much more; I didn't. But I certainly didn't expect this level of regression.<br /><br />Now, by this point, I'm sure that no one reading is even <i>thinking</i> of ever hearing <i>Love Drunk</i>. (In fact, I'd wager that not one of our regular readers would have anyway; but we at TMITM occasionally have to keep ourselves on our toes with tripe like this.) But just to be absolutely sure, I'm going to leave you with "Two Is Better Than One." This is a duet with Taylor Swift. No, I'm not kidding. Dear friends, I need you to know that I do not hate you. I love you all and care for your well-being. But I've suffered, and so must you. You must know. Just push play, and think of this as a character-building exercise; if you make it through the whole song, you are strong indeed. And be glad I didn't upload "Someone Like You."<br /><br />(Another aside: I have a friend (okay, not really a good friend; a facebook friend; an RA from college) who, a few months ago, spent about three weeks using facebook to express girlish excitement about attending a Taylor Swift concert. He kept posting how excited he was to go see "his girl" in concert. He's 29, married, and--to the best of my knowledge--does not actually know Taylor Swift. Weird? I think so.)<br /><br /><object width="250" height="40"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf"></param> <param name="wmode" value="window"></param> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15178337&style=metal&p=0"></param> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="250" height="40" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15178337&style=metal&p=0" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="window"></embed></object><br /><br />These are two of the biggest stars in pop music, folks. This is the future. Welcome to your nightmares.Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08593957419942795980noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6562173474664859221.post-15549699540982999432009-09-14T08:00:00.043-04:002009-09-14T08:11:42.179-04:00Music news is back, whether you like it or notMusic news is back...It's something TK and I started over at <a href="http://pajiba.com/">Pajiba</a>, and it's something the team as a whole will be continuing here at TMITM. Let's get it started...<br /><div><br />The reu<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379210212851078274" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 126px; height: 122px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJ5v1ORqKIs3imKwTEiVX_2OLZ9_6mOMbkqzCo2VL2DEOdJHfYUoBXWdVnZg917g_Qs-EkwIQLeTxdMTzrNX6z84nB695JD0iriWMVf2xygQtRvONyVzERIMVAXZ5RXnrv_txzVh66ACf/s320/felt.jpg" border="0" />nited duo of <strong>Slug</strong> (Atmosphere) and <strong>Murs </strong>(Living Legends), who go by the group name <strong>FELT</strong>, will release their third album November 17th. <em>Felt, Vol. 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez</em> was produced by <strong>Aesop Rock</strong>. It is the follow up to 2005’s <em>Felt, Vol. 2: A Tribute to Lisa Bonet</em> and 2002’s <em>Felt Vol. 1: A Trib</em><em>ute to Christina Ricci. </em>The single "Protagonists" is available for free download on their <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mursandslug">Myspace</a> page. <em>-Felicia</em><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRyQkVBEQhzKvASO-c4j5Zltm74TvNdvt_9uKZliOE1eqzf4af3MQTv0KYNnQ221vhMFisyBVFusICNrNkE-utfS2x9AzG_7wOQID0dCccMeDlCqxZCt_8B2ae52RiTpyK9BzGvgFSKcy8/s1600-h/cobain.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 117px; height: 128px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRyQkVBEQhzKvASO-c4j5Zltm74TvNdvt_9uKZliOE1eqzf4af3MQTv0KYNnQ221vhMFisyBVFusICNrNkE-utfS2x9AzG_7wOQID0dCccMeDlCqxZCt_8B2ae52RiTpyK9BzGvgFSKcy8/s200/cobain.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381082341088912386" border="0" /></a>When <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252880345_0">Activision</span>, makers of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252880345_1">Guitar Hero</span> 5, recently released footage of a fully-playable <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252880345_2">Kurt </span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252880345_2">Cobain</span> in the game mouthing along to <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252880345_3">Bon Jovi</span>, everybody, including <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252880345_4">Courtney Love</span> and even <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252880345_5">Dave Grohl</span> and Krist Novaselic, lost their shit. Activision says they have a signed release from Love to use Cobain's likeness (not to mention photos and videos of Cobain that she gave them). But, in a statement that shouldn't surprise anyone, Love claims she "dragged [her] ass" and never signed the papers. SO, once again, either Courtney Love was actually that lazy in signing legal documents, or she's lying/forgetting about something important involving her dead husband. Heroin's a hell of a drug. We'll probably update everyone when this whole thing gets settled. <span style="font-style: italic;">-Christian</span><br /></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPpc5TsHANl2Kwkg9INmqal9mxFax0kNTwSrVmEqlOOTYzUfPJddk-ikVO8j4RrMEGy43AjPnW__Z0z28vTqJpoWDLcOU3z3aG4HHJU-iux56jRPGwWg-IZp_huE8VqZw2A1jubuULPE_/s1600-h/rdm.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380605793684686930" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 118px; height: 118px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPpc5TsHANl2Kwkg9INmqal9mxFax0kNTwSrVmEqlOOTYzUfPJddk-ikVO8j4RrMEGy43AjPnW__Z0z28vTqJpoWDLcOU3z3aG4HHJU-iux56jRPGwWg-IZp_huE8VqZw2A1jubuULPE_/s200/rdm.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div><em>Rhythms del Mundo Classics</em>, a non-profit collaborative album, was released in July. It is a follow up to the 2006 release Rhythms del Mundo. The latest album features covers by <b>The Killers</b>, <b>Cat Power</b> and <b>Jack Johnson</b>, paired with various Cuban musicians. Proceeds benefit <a href="http://www.apeuk.org/">Artists Project Earth</a>, a UK based charity that works for climate change awareness and helps victims of natural disasters. Click <a href="http://www.rhythmsdelmundo.com/classics/">here</a> for the track listing, and here is <strong>Keane's</strong> cover of "Under Pressure." And yeah, it kind of sucks. <em>-Felicia</em><div><br /><em><object height="40" width="250"><embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15054721&style=metal&p=0" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="40" width="250"></embed></object></em><em></em></div><em></em><strong><br /></strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglckXCxY0CzUYwl3SMRB7RIEOSjZTBPhEHjvWJ6crlYuoVfRUE78zlqoCIRbwXLu-ZyPLU0DglllsOU4K4jPNOAyQdJjDiOUoMsS1NyK2x2jPmiEog7go0eIm7ZD3rPc6jORe82nM3J55c/s1600-h/daft.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 90px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglckXCxY0CzUYwl3SMRB7RIEOSjZTBPhEHjvWJ6crlYuoVfRUE78zlqoCIRbwXLu-ZyPLU0DglllsOU4K4jPNOAyQdJjDiOUoMsS1NyK2x2jPmiEog7go0eIm7ZD3rPc6jORe82nM3J55c/s200/daft.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381082537518388466" border="0" /></a>In other Activision-made music video game news, the company has pulled a major coup in the creation of their new game DJ Hero. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252880345_6">Rolling Stone</span> reports that, after already gathering tracks from <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252880345_7">DJ Shadow</span>, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and DJ AM (plus an endorsement from <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252880345_8">Jay-Z</span>), they've now gotten <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252880345_9">Daft Punk</span> to not only create 11 exclusive new tracks but to also use their likenesses as playable characters in the game. Most of the new tracks are mashups, and only 8 have been announced so far. You can find them, and more geeky electronic news <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/09/11/daft-punk-bring-exclusive-mixes-mash-ups-and-masks-to-dj-hero/">here</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;"> -Christian</span><br /><strong><br /></strong><em><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbWUZ7013FFZYBj5WOPFgiPaOc24JVOSKMAHj0McLbvqRQD9I0jYDzSVsY8QMXYgI0SRd57uZ4IK7hekKe6RtmmFS6Jkymt8T_NmpPEjlfpyynUxzJaWqgNH__5cu5jvhx845jas1fnDBq/s1600-h/the+beatles.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380606235325554626" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 119px; height: 124px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbWUZ7013FFZYBj5WOPFgiPaOc24JVOSKMAHj0McLbvqRQD9I0jYDzSVsY8QMXYgI0SRd57uZ4IK7hekKe6RtmmFS6Jkymt8T_NmpPEjlfpyynUxzJaWqgNH__5cu5jvhx845jas1fnDBq/s200/the+beatles.jpg" border="0" /></a></em><strong>The Beatles</strong> music catalog on iTunes announcement never came during the Apple press conference <em></em>in San Francisco last week. I was a little disappointed, even though I feel like The Beatles are best when listened to on vinyl. If the rumors are true, the announcement will come sooner than later. In the meantime, The Beatles’ remastered albums came out last week, which we <em></em>reported over on Pajiba a few months ago. <em>-Felicia</em><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWuS5sVE_tpk5dI31e14DWcLGy8sdpZVZt9deIHWXTY_HWwZIMbBvc0SGLHYbatJCcBM_GrP6Y-qoCqypL_mJ12eB63Sygtm92RElkUn2WiTgnni08OS_lSorsW41IVUH5xW-p4642tYd0/s1600-h/snoop.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380355291632909122" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 120px; height: 120px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWuS5sVE_tpk5dI31e14DWcLGy8sdpZVZt9deIHWXTY_HWwZIMbBvc0SGLHYbatJCcBM_GrP6Y-qoCqypL_mJ12eB63Sygtm92RElkUn2WiTgnni08OS_lSorsW41IVUH5xW-p4642tYd0/s200/snoop.jpg" border="0" /></a>We mentioned on Pajiba a few weeks ago that the former Death Row Records, now WIDEawake Death Row, re-released <strong>Dr. Dre's</strong> <em>The Chronic</em> last month. Now they will be releasing <strong>Snoop Dogg's</strong> <em>The Lost Sessions Vol . 1</em> on October 13th. The never before released tracks is WIDEawake's attempt to reinvigorate the Death Row label and pay homage to their stars. A possible new <strong>TuPac</strong> release will follow. <em>-Felicia</em></div></div></div></div></div><br /><br />And with that, here's your <b>Monday Playlist.</b><br /><br /><b>TK:</b> One of the most criminally unrecognized hip hop acts of the early 90's were Philadelphia's <b>The Goats</b>. I stumbled upon them on a compilation album I got for free from a record store, and promptly ran out and bought their stellar first album, <i>Tricks of the Shade</i>. There are so many standout tracks on the album, it's hard to pick a favorite, but on the basis of the hook alone, I'm going with "Whatcha Got Is Whatcha Gettin'." Sadly, they wouldn't be able to capture that same lightning in a bottle again, later releasing the fun (though not as smart, clever or politically charged) <i>No Goats No Glory.</i> But in 1992, there were few better hip hop groups out there.<br /><br /><b>Chris</b>: I've always found <b>Mount Eerie</b> interesting. In fact I've always found Phil Elverum's musical endeavors worth a listen, whether it be under his own name or the Microphones moniker or whatever. Plus the fact that he books almost exclusively All Ages shows is impressive and honorable. But despite all this, no song of his has really clicked with me. Like truly made me fall in love with his style of doomy yet winsome anti-folk. That is, until I heard "Lost Wisdom Pt. 2" from the new Mount Eerie album <i>Wind's Poem</i>. It's simultaneously destructive and endearing, like his music in general, but with a certain kind of unforgettable punch that digs into the skull and never burrows its way back out.<br /><br /><b>Sean</b>: I needed to wash the memory of a recent mistake from my ears (check back tomorrow) and remind myself that there <i>is</i> some decent music out there that falls under the silly label of "emo." To that end, I went back to <b>The Classic Crime</b>. It's thick and slick rock, with a lot of production behind it, but also with quite a bit of heart and talent. It almost feels like arena rock, but with a bit more originality than most of the garbage that finds its way onto mainstream radio. Hey, at least their influences reach past Fall Out Boy and Justin Timberlake. From <i>The Silver Cord</i>, this is "5805." I'm a sucker for this kind of thing.<br /><br /><b>Caspar</b>: <b>Laura Gibson</b>, 'Nightwatch'. This wonderfully lilting song, taken from her very excellent album <i>If You Come To Greet Me</i>, is deceptively simple: the piano and violin give it a sort of lullaby feel, but there's a lot of craft in this song, and so much depth of feeling. I love so many different things in it: the quiet chap who harmonises with her; the way she intones 'bring you back' like a hopeful mantra; the opening note of the violin when it comes in; and, especially, Gibson's beautiful phrasing - the way she dwells on a word and savours its sounds, cloaking her sentences with a husky loveliness. <br /><br /><object width="250" height="400"> <param name="movie" value="http://listen.grooveshark.com/widget.swf"></param> <param name="wmode" value="window"></param> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15167752&style=metal&bbg=5e5757&bfg=D6D6D6&bt=000847&bth=000000&pbg=0c0847&pbgh=D6D6D6&pfg=FFFFFF&pfgh=000847&si=7A7A7A&lbg=000847&lbgh=5e5e57&lfg=FFFFFF&lfgh=000847&sb=000847&sbh=D6D6D6&p=0"></param> <embed src="http://listen.grooveshark.com/widget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="250" height="400" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&widgetID=15167752&style=metal&bbg=5e5757&bfg=D6D6D6&bt=000847&bth=000000&pbg=0c0847&pbgh=D6D6D6&pfg=FFFFFF&pfgh=000847&si=7A7A7A&lbg=000847&lbgh=5e5e57&lfg=FFFFFF&lfgh=000847&sb=000847&sbh=D6D6D6&p=0" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="window"></embed></object><br /><br />Enjoy your week, folks. We'll be around.Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270331661418915316noreply@blogger.com2